‘Alice: Pioneer of Cinema’
Credit: Caroline Dubois/SND/Wild Bunch/France Télévisions
Helmed by Virginie Verrier and Guillaume Lonergan, “Alice: Pioneer of Cinema” tells the true story of Alice Guy, who turned from secretary for Gaumont to the first female fiction filmmaker and movie mogul in the late 19th to early 20th century.
A century later, her film pioneering role is finally recognized when she receives a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America, handed out by Martin Scorsese. Then in 2024, at the Paris Olympic Games, her golden statue rises from the Seine, alongside other female luminaries Simon Veil and Simone de Beauvoir.
Besides Bejo, the stellar cast takes in Oscar Lesage (“The Substance”), Thibaut Evrard (“Paris Police 1900,” “No Man’s Land”), Irène Jacob (“The Affair; “The Double Life of Véronique”), Sophie Nélisse (“Yellowjackets,” “The Book Thief”) and François Arnaud (“The Borgias,” “Yellowjackets”).
Caroline De Jenlis, producer at Ligne de Front said, “We are thrilled to partner with SND. With their incredible expertise, we are fully confident they will give Alice’s extraordinary story the global showcase it deserves.”
SND will start negotiating the series at the 32nd Unifrance Rendez Vous in Le Havre, unspooling over Sept 7-10. Another prime drama on the sales banner’s slate includes the nuclear warship thriller “R91.”
In Toronto, “Alice: Pioneer of Cinema” will be showcased together with nine premium shows from major players such as A24, Amazon MGM, Netflix and Apple.
