As it ramps up its UK distribution activities, Chris Coen's Halcyon Pictures has added another title to its fast growing release slate. The new acquisition is Christophe Van Rompaey's Moscow, Belgium (sold by Bavaria Film International).

The film premiered in the Critics' Week in Cannes.

'I loved it. I thought it was funny, the acting was incredible and the dialogue was so smart,' Coen commented of the acquisition, which follows on from such other Halcyon pick-ups as Tom McCarthy'sThe Visitor (currently on release in the UK), Eran Riklis' Lemon Tree and Pablo Trapero's Lion's Den (Leonera). The film is likely to be released in the UK in early 2009.

Moscow, Belgium was written by its Flemish producer, Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem, of production outfit, A Private View.

It is a romantic drama set in a working-class part of Ghent. Matty (Barbara Sarafian) is a 41-year-old mother whose narcissistic art teacher husband has run off with a student half his age. She is bringing up the kids on her own, working in the post office to make ends meet. One calamitous day at the supermarket, she reverses into the bright yellow lorry being driven by Johnny (Jurgen Delnaet). Later, the two begin an unlikely affair.

The film was made by A Private View in coproduction with VTM and the Flemish Audiovisual Fund as part of new scheme Fait Divers. It has already been a success in its local market.

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