Owen Duffy

Artichoke Queen Owen Duffy

Very few know of the important role women played in the early years of car racing. THE ARTICHOKE QUEEN tells the story of Prudence, a young and beautiful hearing impaired woman in the 1950's. Leaving a troubled home life behind for California, she is thrust into the school of hard knocks in a jazz bar, but finds herself drawn to the local car-racing scene. Her success there launches her into the regional spotlight, where she becomes a reluctant celebrity and beauty queen. A dizzying career and romantic relationship ensue as she enters an infamously dangerous road race across Mexico.

But Prudence quickly finds herself in over her head: the races riskier, the rewards higher, her romantic life becoming all too complicated, and in an infamously dangerous road race across Mexico - where she is poised for victory and international acclaim - it seems her whole life is finally about to spin out of control.

Shimmering and evocative, tender but tough, THE ARTICHOKE QUEEN is a picture of bygone Americana, back when sex was safe and car racing was dangerous, and captures a groundbreaking woman's struggle for identity, love, and ultimately, redemption.