Alter Ego Production

What Alter Ego Production does

Alter Ego Production is an independent French documentary production company founded in 2000 in Orléans by director Simon Leclère. Since 2008 it has operated under the artistic direction of Cécile Lestrade, joined in 2014 by producer Elise Hug. The company develops and produces auteur documentaries with directors expressing "a strong, acute, and personal perspective on the world," producing across three formats — long-métrage (feature), moyen-métrage (medium-length), and court-métrage (short). The catalog includes titles such as 'Enfermés mais vivants', 'Et je deviendrais belle', 'Under the Dance Floor', 'Virages', and the 2026-selected-for-Quinzaine 'Gabin'.

The company's underlying activity is project development, financing, production, and limited distribution of documentary films. Production financing is structured around French public-sector funding partners — the CNC, Procirep-Angoa, Ciclic-Région Centre-Val de Loire, and regional councils of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Nouvelle Aquitaine, and Limousin — supplemented by co-production partnerships with entities such as Les Dérushé.e.s and Lyon Capitale TV. Distribution is hybrid: festival and television sales for premium rights, with direct-to-consumer sales via a Vimeo On Demand storefront and a SumUp-hosted online DVD boutique.

Commercially, Alter Ego runs as a founder-and-producer-owned boutique with 1–10 employees. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and derives primarily from production grants, broadcaster co-production fees, and modest direct sales through streaming and DVD. Marketing is minimal, relying on a WordPress site, Facebook, Instagram, newsletter sign-up, and the Vimeo VOD page. The operating geography is France, with project-by-project touchpoints across multiple French regions; there is no indication of international commercial expansion beyond film-festival circulation.

Name

Alter Ego Production

Legal name

Alter Ego Production

Website

https://alterego-production.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Alter Ego Production is a French independent documentary film production company founded in 2000 in Orléans, developing and producing auteur-driven documentaries across feature, medium, and short formats and distributing them via Vimeo On Demand, DVD, festivals, and television.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Orléans

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Alter Ego Production develops and produces author-driven documentary films across feature (long-métrage), medium (moyen-métrage), and short (court-métrage) lengths, working with filmmakers who express a strong, acute, and personal perspective on the world. The company provides artistic direction, production support, and festival strategy, and distributes finished films to audiences via Video on Demand through Vimeo On Demand and via physical DVD sales through its own online boutique store.

Product overview

Alter Ego Production is a documentary film production company founded in 2000 in Orléans, France. The company produces author-driven documentary films across three main categories: feature films (long-métrage), medium-length films (moyen-métrage), and short films (court-métrage). The company distributes its content through two channels: a VOD (Video on Demand) service available via Vimeo On Demand platform, and physical DVD sales through their online store. The portfolio includes documentaries such as 'Enfermés mais vivants' (2018), 'GABIN' (2026), 'Virages', 'Under the Dance Floor', and 'Et je deviendrais belle', among many others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Author-driven documentary films (feature, medium, and short formats) Development and production of author-driven documentary films across feature-length (long-métrage), medium-length (moyen-métrage), and short (court-métrage) formats, produced with filmmaker-directors expressing strong, personal perspectives on the world. Titles include 'Enfermés mais vivants', 'À la gauche du père', 'Maurice, l'hiver', 'Nos forêts', 'Le crack', 'C'est l'heure du Bilan!', 'Virages', 'Under the Dance Floor', 'Et je deviendrais belle', and 'GABIN'.
• Video on Demand (VOD) streaming via Vimeo On Demand Digital streaming and rental of the company's documentary film catalog to consumers through the Vimeo On Demand platform. Includes titles such as 'La moitié du monde', 'Hitch: An Iranian Story', 'Les Dérushé.e.s', 'Enfermés mais vivants', 'La mécanique des corps', 'Les Hutchinson', 'Doux Amer', and 'Mille fois recommencer'.
• Physical DVD sales via online boutique store Direct-to-consumer sales of physical DVD editions of Alter Ego Production's documentary films through the company's online boutique store (SumUp storefront).

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Alter Ego / Les Dérushé.e.s / Lyon Capitale TVcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-producers of documentary films including 'Enfermés mais vivants' (Arrested Lives) in collaboration with Les Dérushé.e.s and Lyon Capitale TV
• CNC (Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée)coreOthersNational public institution supporting French cinema - production support for documentaries including 'Enfermés mais vivants'
• Procirep-AngoacoreOthersCollective management organization for cinematographic authors - provided production support for documentaries
• Ciclic-Région Centre-Val de LoirecoreOthersRegional cultural agency providing production support through the Centre-Val de Loire Region for documentary films
• Région Auvergne-Rhône-AlpesminorOthersRegional council providing production support for documentary films produced in or connected to the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
• Région Nouvelle AquitaineminorOthersRegional council providing production support for documentary films connected to the Nouvelle Aquitaine region
• Région LimousinminorOthersFormer regional council (now part of Nouvelle Aquitaine) providing development support for documentary projects

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Andana Films: Independent French documentary production company developing films with strong author perspectives, similar in size, artistic positioning, and funding mix to Alter Ego Production.
• Zadig Films: French documentary production and distribution company with an author-driven catalog, sharing Alter Ego Production's focus on singular artistic visions and use of public co-production funding.
• Doc & Film: French documentary distribution and production company, comparable in market and the type of auteur documentaries produced, with significant overlap in public funding relationships.
• Point du Jour: French documentary production company producing a catalog of social and artistic documentary films, with comparable reliance on CNC and regional public funding.
• Les Films d'Ici: Major French documentary production company producing a wide slate of auteur documentaries with co-production support from public broadcasters and regional councils, closely mirroring Alter Ego's funding and creative model.
• Les Films du Worso: Paris-based independent French documentary production company producing author-driven documentaries with strong artistic visions, comparable to Alter Ego Production's author-driven model and reliance on French public funding.
• Agat Films & Cie: Long-standing French documentary and experimental film production house producing auteur-driven non-fiction across formats, directly comparable to Alter Ego Production in scale, artistic positioning, and funding model.

Broad incumbents

• ARTE France Cinéma: Public broadcaster's film arm and a major co-production partner for French auteur documentaries, operating in the same ecosystem but at vastly larger scale than Alter Ego Production.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/alteregoproduction/vod_pages
• Facebookfacebook.com/aeprod45
• Instagraminstagram.com/alterego_production
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alter-ego-production

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alter Ego Production