ALICIA

52 min documentary, Produced/ directed by Philippe Charluet (some cinematography), Written by Philippe Charluet and Jane Searle

Networks distribution: SBS TV (Australia), Spirit Enterprise (Japan), AusTV (satellite broadcast within Asia), Fairfax TV (online), Culture Unplugged Festival (online).

Seven years earlier, an 18 year ALICIA was seriously injured in a car accident. It was her brain rather than her body which suffered. This tells the story of her long journey of recovery.

Not content with just regaining a ‘normal life’, Alicia pursues her original dream of becoming an actress. Through Beth, the main character from Sam Shepard’s play A Lie of the Mind, Alicia is able to express the common experiences of brain injury, her alienation from society for being different and her lack of inhibitions.

Alicia’s behaviour is often deemed unacceptable; she can be seen to sometimes use her brain-injury as a justification for her uncontrolled emotions. Through her exaggerated experiences, we are given a candid insight into the other side that inhabit us all.

Flashbacks, dreams, Alicia’s video diary, interviews told with heart and extraordinary honesty by her family, friends, medical practitioners, healers and theatre colleagues; all contribute to unmask and reveal the many faces of Alicia.

Produced with the assistance of SBS & Film Victoria – Financed by the Film Finance Corporation (now Screen Australia)

Featured Video (previous page): Episode 1 – Opening sequence

Link to Full documentary (now showing on Culture Unplugged online festival)

“…What if the child who eventually comes home from hospital isn’t the same person who left?
Such a frightening question is answered in this remarkable documentary.”

SUNDAY HERALD SUN

“…The film is splendid. The deft touches and clever juxtapositions of image and sound are a delight. Congratulations on the clarity of the story-line, given its inherent complexities, and on the level of trust which you gained from the large cast of participants…”

GEOFF BARNES (Commissioning Editor – SBS independent)

“Congratulations! ALICIA was very moving, disturbing, optimistic, humorous, tortuous, leaving me worried for her future. Your special ¨touches¨ touched me Philippe… I felt strange at the end of it, realizing human nature has no bounds yet we seem to be required to work within some – odd…”

JANET VERNON AM