Sigourney Weaver, Leah Purcell and Asher Keddie star in a new, compelling drama series based on an award-winning Australian book.
Prime Video has released the trailer for The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, based on the best-selling debut novel by Holly Ringland.
On August 4, the first three episodes of the series will be released on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories.
Episodes will then air weekly.
Over seven parts, the series tells the “emotionally compelling” story of Alice Hart, played by Alycia Debnam-Carey (and Alyla Browne as young Alice).
‘Secrets within secrets’
“When Alice, aged nine, tragically loses her parents in a mysterious fire, she is taken to live with her grandmother June at Thornfield flower farm, where she learns that there are secrets within secrets about her and her family’s past,” the synopsis reads.
“Set against Australia’s breathtaking natural landscape, and with native wildflowers and plants providing a way to express the inexpressible, this enthralling family drama spans decades.
“As she grows from her complicated past, Alice’s journey builds to an emotional climax when she finds herself fighting for her life against a man she loves.”
Tweet from @hollyringland
Weaver plays the part of June Hart, Alice’s grandmother and in the teaser trailer, we get a taste of her Australian accent.
Purcell, who won the AACTA for Best Actress in The Drover’s Wife, plays the role of Twig, while Keddie appears in all seven episodes as Sally Morgan.
Produced by Weaver, Jodi Matterson, Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky (from Made Up Stories), Sarah Lambert and Glendyn Ivin, all seven episodes are directed by Ivin, with Lambert as the showrunner.
The series was shot in Central Australia, which saw the Northern Territory government tip in $270,000 through Screen Territory’s Production Attraction Incentive Program.
Parts of the series were also shot in New South Wales, according to Ringland’s website.
Deeply personal book
Ringland published The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart in 2018 and in 2019, it was named The Australian Book Industry Award’s General Fiction Book of the Year.
It’s a deeply personal book for Ringland, who drew from her own experiences.
“All the settings in the novel are informed by places and people I’ve known and loved,” she stated, in a reading group guide on her website.
“My experience of growing up on the south-east Queensland coast informed my portrayal of Alice’s childhood seaside world as much as my experience of living in Central Australia informed my portrayal of Alice’s life in the desert.”
Ringland also said the “genesis” of the novel was trauma, saying she had lived through male-perpetrated violence for much of her life, which “silenced” her, and her dreams of being a writer.
In 2022, Ringland published her second book, The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding.
