Italy’s Bim Distribuzione has added six titles to its slate during the Cannes market including the in-production romantic comedy Hysteria from Elle Driver.

The film, by Tanya Wexler, is about the invention of the vibrator in Victorian England and stars Rupert Everett and Sally Hawkins.

Bim also acquired three titles from Wild Bunch including the $7m romantic comedy The Extra Man by Shari Springer Bergman and Robert Pulcini with Kevin Kline and Katie Holmes, and the Italian rights to the $31m (€22.7m) live action project, Le Petit Nicholas, directed by Laurent Tirard and based on the best selling books by cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempe.

Bim will also distribute Bahman Ghobadi’s Certain Regard title No One Knows About The Persian Cats, which tells the story of Tehran-based band who are forbidden to play in their own country. The project picked up special prize from the Certain Regard Jury and also received substantial buzz when co-writer Roxana Saberi (also the director’s girlfriend) was jailed in an Iran prison and released earlier this month.

Finally, Bim picked up two titles from Focus Features: The Eagle Of The Ninth by Kevin Macdonald, (currently in pre-production) set in Roman-ruled Britain, and Greenberg from writer/director Noah Baumbach (The Squid And The Whale). The latter film is a comedy/drama featuring Ben Stiller who plays a man at a cross roads in life that ends up house sitting for his brother in Los Angeles then falls in love with his assistant. Rhys Ifans and Greta Gerwig also star.

Antonio Medici of Bim told Screen Daily said the financial crisis facilitated the quick closing of deals this year. “The sales agent finally realized that prices were too high and they adapted the prices to the difficult market conditions.”

Medici says the company is still in negotiations for other films.

Bim also co-produced and has Italian distribution rights for the following Cannes titles Wild Grass (Les Herbes Folles) by Alain Resnais, A Prophet (UnProphete) by Jacques Audiard as well as Ken Loach’s Looking For Eric, all of which will be released in Italy later this year.

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