In advance of its Toronto screening, Ken Loach's It's A Free World has closed several more deals for Pathe Pictures International in Venice.

The immigration-themed film has gone to Japan (Cinequanon), Portugal (Lusomundo), and Greece (Audiovisuel).

Pathe's Mike Runagall is also reporting strong US interest in the film. 'Venice was very positive for us. It was a great launch for the film and now we can go on and do some good business on Toronto on the back of it,' he said.

Also in Toronto, Pathe is handling pre-sales on Saul Dibb's The Duchess starring Keira Knightley as the controversial 18th century aristocrat, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. The film starts shooting on Sept 24.