Paris-based studio SND, owned by French media group M6, has secured international distribution rights for the prestige drama series ‘Alice: Pioneer of Cinema.’ The project stars Oscar nominee Bérénice Bejo in the title role of Alice Guy, a pioneering filmmaker who became the first woman to direct narrative films and operate her own production studio in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The six-episode series was commissioned by HBO Max and France Télévisions, with production handled by Wild Bunch and Ligne de Front of France, Belgium’s Panache Productions, La Compagnie Cinématographique, and Canada’s Sphere Media. The show is created by Tim Loane and Claire Lemaréchal, known for their work on historical dramas, with direction by Virginie Verrier and Guillaume Lonergan. The ensemble cast also includes Oscar Lesage, Thibaut Evrard, Irène Jacob, Sophie Nélisse, and François Arnaud.
The narrative chronicles Guy’s rise from secretary at the Gaumont studio to industry mogul, her subsequent relocation to the United States where she established the first female-owned film studio, and her eventual loss of both her career and historical recognition. The series references her later posthumous acknowledgments, including a Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award and a commemorative statue installation during the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.
The series is scheduled for its world premiere in the Primetime section of the Toronto Film Festival on September 14, with subsequent broadcast on HBO Max and France Télévisions in December. Additional distribution agreements have been secured with Movistar Plus+ in Spain, HBO Max in Belgium, and Crave in Canada. SND will present the series to international broadcasters at the Unifrance Rendez Vous industry event in Le Havre from September 7-10.
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