SARAH GADON TO STAR IN NETFLIX AND CBC MINISERIES "ALIAS GRACE"

- Gadon to star as Grace Marks in six-part miniseries from Sarah Polley and Halfire Entertainment -

- Shooting commences August 15 -

Toronto, Canada - June 28, 2016 - Halfire Entertainment, CBC, and Netflix announced that award-winning actress Sarah Gadon (Indignation, 11.22.63, Enemy) is set to play Grace Marks in the screen adaptation of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace. The six-hour miniseries, inspired by the historical true story of convicted murderer Grace Marks, is written and produced by Sarah Polley (Take this Waltz, Away from Her) and directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol). Alias Grace is scheduled to begin shooting in Ontario on August 15, 2016. Alias Grace will be broadcast in Canada on CBC and will stream everywhere globally on Netflix.

Alias Grace follows Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon) a poor, young Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who, along with stable hand James McDermott, was convicted of the brutal murders of their employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery, in 1843. James was hanged while Grace was sentenced to life imprisonment. Grace was one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of her time for her supposed role in the sensational double murder, but was eventually exonerated after 30 years in jail. Her conviction was controversial and sparked much debate about whether Grace was actually involved in the murder or merely an unwitting accessory.

Alias Grace is co-commissioned by CBC and Netflix, produced by Halfire Entertainment and created by Sarah Polley. The executive producers are Sarah Polley, Mary Harron, and Noreen Halpern. Co-producing alongside Polley is D.J. Carson.

Published in 1996, Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace was awarded the Giller Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

About Halfire Entertainment

Halfire Entertainment was founded in 2013 by seasoned TV executive Noreen Halpern to develop, produce, and finance television series and miniseries for the Canadian, U.S., and international marketplace. Halfire produces exceptionally creative and commercial programming and employs non-traditional financing resulting in straight-to-series orders. The company has a robust development slate with projects set up at Syfy, Showtime, History, ABC, NBC, CBC, CTV Shaw and Sky. Halfire produced "Working the Engels" (Andrea Martin) for NBC and Shaw in 2014 and begins principal photography in May 2016 on the apocalyptic thriller "Aftermath" for Syfy and Bell Media's Space. Halfire Entertainment has offices in Toronto and Los Angeles.

About CBC/Radio-Canada

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. We are Canada's trusted source of news, information and Canadian entertainment. Deeply rooted in communities all across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight aboriginal languages. We also provide international news and information from a uniquely Canadian perspective.

About Netflix

Netflix is the world's leading Internet television network with over 81 million members in over 190 countries enjoying more than 125 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.