Lido Cinemas

The Story

The story begins in the South of France in 1879. Ferdinand Cheval is a reserved and quiet man. A rural postman, he enjoys the solitude of his 20-mile rounds, daydreaming about a world full of wonder and beauty that he can only glimpse through postcards and magazines. After the birth of Alice, his daughter, he has a revelation: he will build a palace to turn her into a princess. With no architectural background, driven by his love for Alice and the unconditional support of his wife, Philomène, Ferdinand Cheval will turn his vision into a reality with his bare hands, dedicating 33 challenging years to the construction of the Ideal Palace, which was classified as a historical monument in 1969 and is considered to be the first cultural landmark of native art.