Julia Ducournau’s New Film ‘Alpha’ Nabbed by Neon for North America

Neon, the Oscar-winning distributor of “Parasite,” is getting back in business with “Titane” director Julia Ducournau.

In one of the first big rights deals of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the studio announced it has acquired North American territories for Ducournau’s “Alpha.” Plot details were not immediately disclosed, except that the film will be “genre-defying.” Neon previously released Ducournau’s acclaimed “Titane,” which won Cannes’ highest honor, the Palme d’Or, in 2021. She is only the second woman director to do so, following Jane Campion for “The Piano.”

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“Alpha” will star Golshifteh Farahani (“The Patience Stone,” “Paterson”) and Tahar Rahim (“The Mauritanian,” “A Prophet”).

Producers are Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film, and Eric and Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie. Frakas Productions is co-producing. Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are handling global sales. The Neon deal was negotiated by its president of acquisitions and production Jeff Deutchman, with Charades’ Carole Baraton and FilmNation Entertainment’s CEO Glen Basner on behalf of the filmmakers.

The studio returns to the official selection at Cannes this year with “Anora,” the latest from “The Florida Project” director Sean Baker. It follows a sex worker on a journey from New York to Las Vegas, and stars “Better Things” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” breakout Mikey Madison. Upcoming slate titles also include: Osgood Perkins’ “Keeper” with Tatiana Maslany; Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence”; and the wide release “Babes,” from award-winning director and creator Pamela Adlon.

Ducournau is repped by Paris-based Film Talents.

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