A day after the official announcement of this year's Locarno Festival programme, Italian sales outfit Intramovies has swooped on competition title Black Sea (Mar Nero) from new director Federico Bondi.

A world premiere in Locarno,Black Seawas produced by Film Kairos.

'It's an arthouse film, a quality picture with a social theme,' Intramovies' Jeff Nuyts said of the film, about an elderly Florentine widow and her young Romanian caretaker.

The film picks up on what is an increasingly common phenomenon in contemporary Italy - the old and afflicted local people relying on eastern European immigrants for their care. The director has described the drama, partially based on members of his own family, as a drama about 'a forced coexistence between two women who later become friends.'

It stars Olaria Occhini and Dorotheea Petre.

The news of the acquisition follows on from what was a brisk Cannes market for Intramovies. Earlier this summer, the company took on sales duties on the most recent slate from Cattleya, one of Italy's moprolific production outfits.

Titlescoming to Intramovies fromCattleya include Tell Me About Love, directed by and starring Silvio Muccino, Cristina Comencini's Black & White, Sergio Rubini's At A Glance and Claudio Cupellini's Lessons Of Chocolate.

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