Shailene Woodley ("Big Little Lies") will be the title of "The Journey to Beautiful", an English comedy series ("Instinct" by French writer director Nathalie Marchak).

The Anonymous Federation is a joint venture between Anonymous Content and Federation Studios and produced by Gabman, a company founded by Valerie Garcia, formerly the leading French distribution board, Mars Movies.

Rosalie Cimino, a former senior agent at the Paris company UBBA, will produce on behalf of the Anonymous Federation, while Garcia will produce on behalf of Gabman. The main photography will begin in the fall.

Woodley will play Mary, a racing champion who now works as a mermaid at the New York Aquarium, working to raise her 7-year-old son Lulu alone. When they were deported, she pretended that they were about to embark on a beautiful journey to protect him. But doing so, she starts losing and eventually finds herself. Cimino describes the project as "'Life is Beautiful' meeting with the "wonderful Captain".

Supported by Sundance’s writing scholarship, Marchak wrote the script for “The Beautiful Journey.” The script is included in the inaugural Cannes script list, which highlights female and non-binary storytelling scripts.

“It was a dream to work with Shailene Woodley,” said Marchak, whose first feature film, In Intinct, was released in theatre in 2017. “She is a true film show – her fearless honesty and the depth of radiation will light up the screen as she leads us through Mary’s tenderness, turbulence, and ultimately change.”

Cimino and Garcia said: “We are excited to release this exciting film with our visionary director Nathalie Marchak. Today, we embody the incredibly talented Shailene Woodley for the protagonist who owns Mary. Her tremendous talent will shed light on our films and bring Nathalie’s vision to life. Her vision will transcend our dedication and art.

"The script has come into close contact with Woodley, and she loves it," Cimino said. The two also noted that the actor's young mother in "Big Lies" had already made a breakthrough performance, which earned her an Emmy nomination. "We don't want to talk to her about her role in 'Big Little Lies', but it was her manager who said: 'Shailene has played the role of mother, she is a fan of the script, she wants to see you, she wants to see Nathalie!"

The producer said she and Garcia are currently in Cannes and are committed to raising funds for the film, with the intention of starting filming in the fall. Garcia said the film will be shot primarily in Europe and will be shot outside of the outdoor scene in New York a few days.

"The Beautiful Journey" will mark Woodley's first French project. Woodley held the role of “The Secret Life of American Teenagers” in 2008, and later played “Descendants,” “Difference” franchise and “Our Star’s Fault.” The actress, also a well-known environmentalist and political activist, made headlines in 2016 in protest of Dakota’s visit pipeline.

Cimino said when she joined Woodley in the film that her long-term relationship with the manager and the agent helped, but most importantly, it depends on “very good script.” "Once a good script starts circulating in an agency or management company, actors want good scripts. They want good stories, they want characters that they can defend," she said.

Marchak holds a Master of Law from Harvard Law School and receives a Certificate in Filmmaking from New York University, previously directed and served as Vice President of French Writer, Director and Producer (ARP) on the TV series "Les Siffleurs". Other key actors and international sales agents will be announced in the coming days.

Woodley is represented by CAA and Range Media Partners. Marchak is represented by Times Art (France) and Paradigm (US).