StudioCanal has sold Barbet Schroeder's Our Lady Of The Assassins to Paramount Classics for the US. Paramount has also taken rights for Colombia, the country where the hard-hitting gay-themed film that takes place within a culture where human life is dirt cheap was secretly filmed.

In addition, StudioCanal has struck a slew of early deals on its new David Lynch title Mulholland Drive. The $7m picture, which was originally conceived as a pilot for an ABC series, but is now being re-worked as a theatrical movie, was sold to Comstock for Japan, Bim for Italy, Vertigo for Spain and TVA for Canada. The film will also be released in Germany through StudioCanal affiliate Tobis.

StudioCanal chief Daniel Marquet said: "I am thrilled that Paramount is handling this special film. And I'm especially pleased that UIP [Paramount's overseas distribution partnership with Universal] will get to handle it in Colombia where their market strength will really count."

Marquet said that by the end of MIFED he expects to close at least two other US deals: on Elie Chouraqui's wartime love story Harrison's Flowers and on Sara Sugarman's drama Very Annie Mary.

* Meanwhile, StudioCanal has struck a deal with Japanese games giant Namco to develop and produce a video game that will accompany its picture Axis. The picture and the game, which is targeted at the Sony PlayStation 2 console, will be released simultaneously in the second quarter of 2002.

The big budget film, which depicts four distinct extra-terrestrial communities, is the first European-made feature to be entirely composed of 3D computer generated images. Directed by Pascal Pinon and Chris Delaporte, Axis is co-produced by Chaman Productions, StudioCanal and TVA International.

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