Alice and Lewis

The Producers

Elina Street

Elina Street (she/her) is a French American director and writer based in New York City. Her storytelling focuses on the world of childhood with an emphasis on female and non-binary representation. Elina’s career began in the U.K., and her first documentary A Journey to the Circus was selected at the British Film Institute (B.F.I) and the BAFTA qualifying London Short Film Festival. She went on to direct fiction and her short narrative period piece, Alice and Lewis, starring Lollie McKenzie from West End’s Matilda the Musical has screened at over 20 festivals internationally. Elina moved to the U.S. to complete an MA in Film at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and work as a Director and AD on TV Shows, feature films, and commercials. Her TV credits include The Sinner for Showtime, The Break With Michelle Wolf for Netflix, Gotham for HBO and her commercial credits include clients such as Nike, Meta, Shiseido, Audible, and Estée Lauder. She was a recent finalist for a commercial pitch for Lexus in ELLE Magazine where she explored gender and race stereotypes in ballet culture.

She co-directed the award-winning documentary campaign, The Lesbian Bar Project, alongside queer director Erica Rose, now a docu-series for The Roku Channel, starring and executive produced by Lea DeLaria. The project has received over 90 articles this year alone, with 1 billion impressions, and 79 press placements. It was awarded a GLAAD award in 2023 and was nominated at TRIBECA X in 2022 as well as Sundance Brand Storytelling in 2023.

Making The Film

Director's Statement

What is life without childhood memories, dreams, and wonderment about new discoveries made every day? In today's fast-paced world of technology, children are often deprived of time they will never get back, to use their imaginations and create their own realities through play and magical thinking.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has always been a magnetic fascination for me. Playful characters and enticing themes such as mystery, chaos, deception and attachment draw the readers into a world of delightfully shocking apparitions and imaginary friends. Some have attributed this unique incomparable story to psychedelic visions, nightmares, or dreams. Yet, although this magnificent, timeless tale has spawned over 300 adaptations, the story of the real Alice hasn't yet been told.

Why and how was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland created? I felt driven to find out. The answer lies within the life of the real Alice, and her relationship with her math tutor, who outwardly appeared to be rather staid but who in fact had a wildly imaginative mind. Inspired by Alice's unstoppable questions and curiosity, Lewis Carroll (whose real name was Charles Dodgson) wrote one of the greatest stories of all times.

I created the film Alice and Lewis out of my own curiosity to revisit Alice's path through Wonderland but more importantly, to acknowledge and appreciate her reality as a child and the powerful, life-changing inspiration she gave Lewis Carroll to write his brilliant, unforgettable tale. My hope is that this fictionalized short film will remind its audience of the importance of the adult/child relationship in exploring the world together and to remember that childhood is precious and that none of us can go back to yesterday, except in our hearts and minds.