France 's Gaumont has announced the sale of Prix Michel d'Ornano winner and Sundance entry Blame It On Fidel to Koch Lorber in the US. The film, directed by Julie Gavras, will go out in the second quarter of 2007 in NY and LA followed by a wider release. Koch Lorber teamed with Netflix's Red Envelope on the buy.

The film stars Stefano Accorsi and Julie Depardieu and tells the story of a little girl's life-changing experiences as incited by her parents' political commitments during the year from 1970 to 1971.

Fidel has also been sold to Toshiba (Japan), Equinoxe (Canada), B Movies (Italy), Films de l'Elysees (Belgium), Lusomundo (Portugal), MGB Films (Argentina), HBO (Latin America) and AE Films (Turkey), among others.

Also on Thursday, Gaumont released its annual figures for 2006. Revenues have jumped 32% with profits up to $33.3m (Euros 25.4m) from $9.4m (Euros 7.2m) the year before. Films responsible for the increase include sleeper hit - and Cesar-nominated - Je Vous Trouve Tres Beau by Isabelle Mergault, Francis Veber's La Doublure and Jean Dujardin starrer OSS 117 .

Meanwhile, Michel Gondry's The Science Of Sleep helped international sales jump 26%.

On the exhibition front, Gaumont's joint-venture with Pathe, EuroPalaces generated $36.1m (Euros 27.5m) in 2006 as compared to $19.6m (Euros 14.9m) in 2005

Following early 2007 releases Cashback by Sean Ellis, Regis Wargnier's Pars Vite Et Reviens Tard and Bobcat Goldthwait's Juste Une Fois, the studio will this year also debut Vent Mauvais from Stephane Allagnon, Darling by Christine Carriere, Ain't Scared, by Audrey Estrougo, Michel Boujenah's 3 Amis, Un Jour Sur Terre by Alastair Fothergill, Julien Leclercq's recently-announced Chrysalis, Big City from Djamel Bensalah, MR73 by Olivier Marchal, and Ellis' The Broken.

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