Neon Nabs North American Rights to ‘Alpha’ From Palme d’Or-Winning Director Julia Ducournau

Neon has acquired the North American rights to Palme d’Or winning filmmaker Julia Ducournau’s next film “Alpha,” the studio announced on Tuesday. Golshifteh Farahani and Tahar Rahim are set to star, with production commencing next fall.

Jean des Forêts and Amelie Jacquis of Petit Film and Eric & Nicolas Altmayer of Mandarin & Compagnie are producing, with Frakas Productions co-producing. Charades and FilmNation Entertainment are handling sales in the rest of the world during the Cannes Film Festival.

No plot details have been revealed, although Neon describes the project as “genre-defying.” The studio previously distributed Ducournau’s “Titane,” which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

The deal was negotiated by Neon’s president of acquisitions and production Jeff Deutchman with Charades’ Carole Baraton and FilmNation Entertainment’s CEO Glen Basner on behalf of the filmmakers. This is the second time Neon and Ducournau have worked together, following “Titane.” Neon picked up distribution rights ahead of its premiere at Cannes in 2021. The film went on to win the Palme d’Or. This new deal “further cements Neon’s commitment to bringing top of the line international cinema to domestic theatrical audiences,” according to the press release.

Other recent Neon acquisitions include Osgood Perkins’ upcoming “Keeper,” starring Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland and Steven Soderbergh’s spooky from-the-ghost’s-perspective chiller “Presence,” which premiered at Sundance earlier this year.

Neon will be premiering Sean Baker’s “Anora” in competition at Cannes, starring Mikey Madison. Their upcoming slate also includes Pamela Adlon’s “Babes,” Tilman Singer’s “Cuckoo,” Osgood Perkins’ “Longlegs” and the Best Animated Feature Oscar nominee “Robot Dreams.”

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