Cumbria is to play host to a play host to a new documentary about Alice in Wonderland.
Based on a blockbuster exhibition that had crowds flocking to London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser explores Lewis Carroll’s timeless creation from manuscript to global phenomenon, exploring how Alice has become a cultural icon throughout art.
The film, which is being screened at the Alhambra Cinema in Penrith on October 14, promises to transport audiences into the V&A’s wonderful world of Wonderland, with five Alice-inspired worlds arranged thematically, spanning film, performance, fashion, art, music and photography.
Directed by Dione Orrom, it’s presented by V&A senior curator Kate Bailey and broadcaster Andi Oliver, and the role of young Alice is played by Olivia Wells.
Dione said: “We wanted to find a dynamic, visual way to interact with the exhibition, to help bring the experience of being in the live space to the screen.
“We also wanted to show different layers of reality and to bring in an element of the magical, and that is how the idea of having our own Alice in the space developed.”
The V&A is the first museum to fully explore the cultural impact of Alice in Wonderland and its ongoing inspiration for leading creatives, from Salvador Dalí to Tim Burton, Vivienne Westwood and Little Simz.
Kate Bailey said: “Creating a film of Alice’s exhibition is a dream and an incredible way of sharing the experience with audiences who are unable to visit the exhibition in London.
“It provides an exciting opportunity to delve deeper into the impact and legacy of Alice, sharing unseen and extraordinary insights into the imagination of artists and designers creating Wonderlands.”
The UK cinema release will be followed by international screenings in 2022.
