Before the empire, there was a typewriter, a living room, and a name to be made. Franklin Street is a fictional retelling of the early life of William Lewis, the brilliant and brutal founder of Lewis Motion Pictures.
Written & Directed by: Cece Lewis
Produced by: Rosedust Studios
Section: Un Certain Regard
Festival: Cannes Film Festival 2025
RUN TIME: 108 minutes
LANGUAGE: English
COUNTRY: USA
In late-1940s Hollywood, ambitious young writer William Lewis struggles to break free from the rigid constraints of the traditional studio system. Driven by an unrelenting hunger for creative independence and prestige, William risks everything to establish Lewis Motion Pictures—a studio poised to reshape American cinema.
As his success grows, so too does the shadow of his carefully maintained reputation. But when his daughter, Eleanor, announces her intention to marry Richard Toussaint—heir to a pioneering Black entertainment family—William’s private ideals and public image collide. Faced with navigating familial tensions and societal expectations, William must decide between preserving the status quo or embracing change at the risk of alienating those closest to him.
Told with intimate precision and quiet intensity by director Cece Lewis, Franklin Street is a powerful meditation on ambition, legacy, and the invisible costs of constructing a family mythology. It is an unflinching look at the man behind the empire, exploring what happens when the weight of greatness becomes heavier than the truth.
notable characters
Mia Goth as Eleanor Lewis
William’s daughter. Intelligent, self-possessed, and quietly rebellious. Her romance with Richard is the soft defiance at the heart of the film.
Laura Linney as Marion Lewis
William’s wife. An elegant but weary social force, trying to maintain appearances while understanding the cost of her husband's ambition.
Aldis Hodge as Richard Toussaint (in crossover scenes)
Seen largely through Eleanor’s perspective—romantic, enigmatic, and principled. His presence challenges everything the Lewis family thought they stood for.
Cailee Spaeny as Young Cece Lewis
Appears in framing vignettes and archival-style sequences. Not a narrator—an observer trying to piece together truth from scraps.
studio involvement
Rosedust Studios, founded by Cece Lewis, led the development and production of Franklin Street, a deeply personal narrative inspired by her grandfather William Lewis and the founding era of Lewis Motion Pictures. The studio oversaw the film from script to screen, prioritizing intergenerational storytelling and a visually rich portrait of an iconic Hollywood legacy. Filmed between Los Angeles and Atlanta, the production tapped into archival materials from the Lewis estate, with Rosedust also spearheading a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the film.
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