'Sunset,' 'Praise' secure distrib pacts

Southern Star gets rights to Cannes, Toronto award-winners

By PHILLIPPE CAHILL

SYDNEY -- Southern Star Film Sales has secured distribution deals across America, Canada, Europe and Asia for two critically acclaimed Oz debut features.

Linus Roache starrer "Siam Sunset," a black comedy that won this year's Rail d'Or prize at Cannes, has been acquired by Atlas Film for distribution in Germany and by Behaviour Communications for Canada.

Following success with another controversial Oz feature, "Head On," about a day in the life of a young gay Greek man, U.S. distributor Strand Releasing has secured North American rights to Toronto film fest critics' award winner "Praise."

"Siam" rights were recently acquired in Romania, Slovenia, Thailand, Korea and Malaysia.

The debut feature of actor turned helmer John Polson, "Siam" was nominated last week for five Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards, the Oz equivalent of the Oscars.

Pic is being distributed by Studio Canal Plus in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Luxembourg); CCV in Scandinavia; First Distributors in Hong Kong; Tantra in Poland; and Film Four in the U.K.

Described as a tragi-comic anti-romance, John Curran's Oz directorial debut "Praise" has also been nominated for nine AFI awards. Pic was adapted by Andrew McGahan from his novel of the same name.