A powerful new Western Australian documentary is set to shine a light on one dancer’s extraordinary journey through trauma, healing and creative rediscovery. Pointe: Dancing on a Knife’s Edge is a moving portrait of Floeur Alder, acclaimed dancer and daughter of ballet legends Lucette Aldous AC and Alan Alder, as she finds her way back to the stage following a life-altering attack.
At just 22, Floeur was preparing to begin her European career when she was brutally stabbed by a stranger outside her Perth home. The physical recovery was long, but the psychological wounds ran deeper, triggering past trauma and raising questions about legacy, identity and the pressure of living in the shadow of greatness.
Directed by Dawn Jackson in her debut feature, Pointe follows Floeur’s return to movement as a means of healing. From her collaboration with her ageing parents on Rare Earth, to the creation of a powerful new solo work in France inspired by Carmen, dance becomes her way of processing pain and reclaiming agency. The film culminates in her return to the stage at His Majesty’s Theatre, where she performs her deeply personal work to a standing ovation.
Pointe is a poetic meditation on survival, intergenerational strength and the redemptive power of art. It touches on universal themes - family, violence against women, trauma and resilience - through the lens of one artist’s lived experience. The film is rich with rare archival material and features appearances by dance icons including Chrissie Parrott, David McAllister, Dame Monica Mason, Dame Gillian Lynne, Dame Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev and Robert Bestonso.
Pointe was supported by Screenwest and Lotterywest through the inaugural Brian Beaton Award, Screen Australia’s Producer Equity Program, and the Australian Cultural Fund’s ACF Boost Program. Much of its production was made possible by individual philanthropic donations.
Pointe will premiere at CinefestOZ in Busselton on Sunday 31 August, followed by a Perth screening at The Windsor Cinema on Thursday 11 September.