Alliance Atlantis and France's Le Studio Canal Plus have confirmed a deal for Alliance to handle UK distribution on a slate of Le Studio's high-profile English-language titles (Screendaily, Feb 3).

The deal covers all UK rights to Simpatico, starring Sharon Stone and Jeff Bridges; Kathryn Bigelow's Weight Of Water, with Sean Penn and Catherine McCormack; John Waters' Cecil B Demented, starring Melanie Griffith and Stephen Dorff; Nagisa Oshima's Gohatto, starring 'Beat' Takeshi; The Monkey's Mask, with Kelly McGillis; and George Romero's Bruiser. The pact also covers non-English language titles for which Le Studio parent Canal Plus holds UK rights.

The move creates Alliance's second major product line since partnering with Germany's Kinowelt in August - a pact which yielded the UK venture backing of $75m over three years and was followed by a three-year out-put deal with the US' Artisan Entertainment. Alliance and Kinowelt are now creating a freestanding UK distribution operation under a new name.

The deal also positions Alliance as a potential UK partner in Canal Plus' strategy of building a pan-European distribution system. The French major may decide to create a similar operation in the UK to its joint venture in France with distributor Bac Films. But Canal Plus also has links with distributors such as Pathe Distribution and FilmFour in the UK.