Swiss production company Alina Film has secured distribution for an ambitious historical drama from first-time feature filmmakers Pauline Julier and Nicolas Chapoulier, with Sister Distribution acquiring rights to “The Indies” (“Les Indes”). The Swiss-Spanish co-production will be unveiled as a work in progress at Madrid’s ECAM Forum co-production marketplace, running 9–11 June. Based on real events and taking place in 17th-century Europe during an era of scientific advancement and colonial growth, the historical road film follows a pair of French soldiers and a young Spanish nobleman charged with transporting a portrait of the Infanta of Spain to the young King Louis XIV to cement a delicate diplomatic alliance. The film marks a major achievement for the filmmaking pair, who first pitched the idea to Alina Film’s founders at Locarno festival six to seven years ago.
A Passage Across Centuries
“The Indies” sets itself apart as a visually distinctive undertaking rather than a conventional character-driven narrative. The film’s visual aspirations are grounded in the directorial partnership’s shared commitment to image-making as a primary storytelling device. Julier, a Franco-Swiss artist working across multiple media, has established an global standing through documentary works and installations screened at prestigious venues such as Visions du Réel and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Chapoulier, a visual artist and theatre director who heads the company Les 3 points de suspension, brings aligned creative perspectives to the project. Their combined vision emphasises the visual language of cinema as the primary storytelling element.
The production landscape demonstrates a wider confidence in auteur-driven filmmaking. Alina Film’s founders, David Epiney and Eugenia Mumenthaler, built their track record backing distinctive creative visions, with prior credits including work by acclaimed directors such as Milagros Mumenthaler and Elena Lopez Riera. Their swift support for Julier and Chapoulier’s vision highlights the growing appetite amongst producers across Europe for formally ambitious period pieces. The decision by Sister Distribution to secure distribution before the film’s work-in-progress premiere at ECAM Forum indicates industry faith in the project’s artistic merit and commercial potential.
- Image-based narrative emphasised over traditional character arc development
- 17th-century European backdrop throughout period of scientific advancement
- Directors blend visual artistry and theatrical backgrounds
- Producers champion auteur-focused and formally experimental cinema
Appearance Before Integrity: A Daring Artistic Assertion
“The Indies” constitutes a conscious break with conventional narrative cinema, positioning visual composition as the film’s central storytelling tool rather than character development or plot progression. This artistic framework reflects current European artistic cinema, where visual elements and composition supersede narrative structure. The directorial duo’s background in visual arts and installation work has substantially informed their approach to the period film, treating each frame as a deliberately composed visual composition. Sister Distribution’s acquisition of distribution rights illustrates the industry’s expanding appetite to such formally adventurous projects, notably within the European co-production sphere where creative vision progressively shapes investment decisions.
The filmmaking collective’s dedication to image-driven narrative demonstrates wider changes within independent European filmmaking, where filmmakers are actively pursuing distinctive creative perspectives over commercially calculated entertainment formulas. Alina Film’s history of championing auteur directors has positioned the company as a significant force in this landscape. By backing Julier and Chapoulier’s vision, the producers demonstrate their belief that audiences and festival circuits continue to seek out films that emphasise aesthetic innovation and visual storytelling over traditional dramatic structures. This strategy carries built-in financial uncertainties, yet the industry’s response suggests such risks are becoming increasingly calculable investments.
Official Selections and Visual Language
The seventeenth-century setting provides a abundant visual palette for examining period aesthetics through modern formal approaches. The film’s story structure—focused on a diplomatic mission across European landscapes—serves mainly as a means for visual investigation rather than character-driven drama. This structural choice enables filmmakers to approach historical landscape as a character in its own right, with landscapes, architecture and light becoming integral to the narrative. The period setting’s inherent visual richness, combined with the filmmakers’ backgrounds in art installations, indicates a film deeply invested in compositional precision and chromatic sophistication.
Julier and Chapoulier’s creative experience shape their visual strategy, building on modern artistic approaches to reinterpret period cinema conventions. Their earlier projects in documentary film and installation practices showcases a sophisticated understanding of how imagery conveys meaning beyond plot-driven narratives. This cross-disciplinary approach disrupts established filmmaking priorities, where script and narrative generally drive production priorities. The work-in-progress presentation at ECAM Forum will allow production experts to examine how effectively the directors translate their artistic vision into screen-based expression throughout feature-length storytelling.
First Directing Projects and Artistic Background
Pauline Julier and Nicolas Chapoulier exemplify a unique category of emerging filmmakers whose creative trajectories have been formed through fields outside classical film practice. Julier, a Swiss-French artist working across multiple disciplines, has developed an global standing through documentary practice and art installations, with pieces shown in acclaimed institutions including Visions du Réel, the Thessaloniki festival and Paris’s Centre George Pompidou. Her earlier works “Way Beyond” and “Follow the Water” reflect a consistent engagement to conceptual rigour and visual experimentation. Chapoulier brings additional skills as a director, visual artist and author, with considerable expertise in theatre and existing position as artistic director of Les 3 points de suspension. Together, they represent a modern approach of filmmaking where creative work influences visual storytelling.
The producers’ decision to entrust “The Indies” to debut feature filmmakers demonstrates faith in their distinctive sensibilities rather than established commercial appeal. David Epiney and Eugenia Mumenthaler of Alina Film encountered the pair at Locarno six to seven years prior, when Julier and Chapoulier initially presented their period concept. Epiney recalled being “impressed by their respective credentials and unique vision for this historical work,” indicating the creative partnership resonated immediately with producers already committed to supporting distinctive creative talents. This lengthy development period allowed the directors to develop their creative strategy, whilst Alina Film’s dedication to auteur-driven projects provided the structural support necessary to realise their ambitious vision without financial concessions.
- Julier’s art installations presented at major European cultural venues and festivals
- Chapoulier acts as artistic director of theatre company Les 3 points de suspension
- Directors met producers at the Locarno festival over six years before production started
- Alina Film concentrates on supporting innovative filmmakers instead of profit-focused entertainment ventures
Spain’s Rising Appeal as Production Centre
The decision to position “The Indies” within Spain’s expanding filmmaking infrastructure demonstrates broader sector acknowledgement of the country’s strengthening capabilities as a film production hub. Madrid’s ECAM Forum, where the film will be unveiled as a work in progress, has become a notable gathering point for European collaborative ventures, attracting production companies and funding sources seeking to develop large-scale productions. Spain’s mix of technical expertise, diverse landscapes and established infrastructure has made it growing appeal to international productions looking for European venues and skilled professionals. The co-production arrangement between Swiss and Spanish entities highlights how contemporary filmmaking works internationally, pooling resources and artistic vision to bring to life projects that might struggle to secure funding within individual country frameworks.
Sister Distribution’s acquisition of distribution rights signals confidence in both the film’s creative quality and Spain’s capacity to nurture original perspectives. The company’s history of supporting Julier’s earlier projects illustrates how Spanish distributors are increasingly investing with experimental and conceptually rigorous cinema rather than defaulting to commercially formulaic offerings. This commitment reflects a maturation within the Spanish film industry, where distributors increasingly recognise that artistic credibility and festival recognition translate into sustainable audience engagement. The backing from an established distributor offers essential credibility for the directors’ non-traditional methods, suggesting that period cinema need not conform to conventional narrative structures to secure professional backing and commercial viability.
Investment and Infrastructure
The multi-national financing structure of “The Indies” demonstrates how European production companies harness co-production agreements to distribute financial risk whilst accessing complementary resources. Alina Film’s controlling interest alongside Lastor Media’s participation demonstrates Switzerland and Spain’s collaborative capacity, combining capital and technical expertise to complete projects going beyond individual national budgets. This arrangement permits ambitious period productions to proceed without reliance upon major studio funding, allowing directors creative control whilst maintaining professional production standards. The ECAM Forum itself enables such partnerships, operating as a marketplace where producers find compatible collaborators and investors spot promising projects early in development.
What’s Coming
“The Indies” emerges during a key point for European period cinema, where creative vision more and more overrides conventional commercial practices. The film’s screening at ECAM Forum as a work in progress solicits audience engagement and industry scrutiny at a developmental phase, capable of generating impetus before its formal premiere. With Sister Distribution’s support and the directors’ proven track record in contemporary art practice, the project possesses the structural framework needed to navigate festival circuits and obtain cinema distribution. The meeting of these circumstances suggests the picture will attract focus from curators and programmers searching for distinctive voices that challenge genre expectations.
Beyond direct market prospects, “The Indies” constitutes a broader shift within European filmmaking towards image-driven narratives that emphasise visual storytelling over character psychology. Julier and Chapoulier’s background in visual arts and theatre respectively positions them to explore period aesthetics as conceptual territory rather than mere period setting. As audiences increasingly gravitate towards structurally innovative cinema, particularly within festival contexts, the film’s unconventional approach may establish a template for how contemporary directors can interrogate historical subjects through distinctively contemporary sensibilities. The project’s trajectory will undoubtedly shape how upcoming production companies consider funding innovative historical works.