HanWay (owned by Jeremy Thomas) is emerging as the prime candidate to handle international sales on many of the films made through Foresight Film, the new Section 48 production fund launched by Prescience Film Finance that aims to raise £10m for a £40m film slate in the 2004/2005 tax year.

Earlier this week, Prescience Film Finance confirmed it had concluded production arrangements with Jeremy Thomas's Recorded Picture Company, Andrew Eaton and Michael Winterbottom's Revolution, Richard Holmes and Ron Fogelman's Gruber Films, and Thin Man Films and Potboiler Productions, the Simon Channing Williams partnerships with Mike Leigh and Gail Egan.

Projects likely to be backed by Foresight Films include Brian Skeet's Synchro, Terry Gilliam's Tideland and Carine Adler's Stray (all from RPC), White Bhaji (from Gruber Films), Cork and Brothers Of The Head (Potboiler), Revolution's Tristram Shandy (to which Steve Coogan is attached), A Star Called Henry and Fast Forward, a co-production with Working Title.

The advisory committee for the Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) consists of producer Steve Woolley, Tim Smith and Paul Brett of Prescience Film Finance, WJB Chiltern plc Harry Hicks and Dean Goldberg, Park Caledonia Group. The adviser to the LLPs is WJB Chiltern plc and the solicitors are Davenport Lyons. The operator is WJB Corporate Finance Ltd.

The idea is that Foresight can raise a quarter of budgets through investors but can cash flow entire budgets. By co-incidence, the launch of Foresight was announced on the same day that the UK inland revenue closed down the equity funds sub-sector. "We are doing everything we can to provide a safe berth for those investors who want to get involved in British films," Prescience's Paul Brett told Screen International.