Josephine Mackerras’ Alice, winner of SXSW 2019’s Best Narrative Feature prize, tells the story of a mild-mannered Parisian woman who becomes a sex worker to save her home. When Alice (the magnifique Emilie Piponnier) discovers that her husband Francois (the detestable Martin Swabey) has squandered their funds on prostitutes, she becomes one herself—not out of revenge, but as an act of self-empowerment, controlling her own fate by defying the males in her life who, until then, controlled her.

Impactful performances by Piponnier, Swabey and Chloe Boreham (as Lisa, Alice’s sex-worker mentor) are central to this microbudget study in gender stereotypes—as is the heartfelt heft of writer/director Mackerras. Check out the film’s Q&A below for behind-the-scenes discussions from the cast and writer/director.