Martin Blaney in Berlin

Bavaria Film International has picked up international distribution rights for Emily Atef's second feature film The Stranger In Me (Das Fremde In Ihr), which has been selected for this year's Critics' Week in Cannes.

The drama of a young mother who is thrown into emotional turmoil after the birth of her baby son and then realises she is becoming a threat for the child, was produced by Berlin-based NiKo Film in co-production with the German Film & Television Academy, where Atef, producer Nicole Gerhards and co-screenwriter Esther Bernstorff all studied.

Broadcaster ARTE and ZDF's Das kleine Fernsehspiel unit are also partners on the film which will be released theatrically in Germany by Ventura Film.

Announcing the deal, Thorsten Ritter, managing director of Bavaria Film International, said: 'The Stranger In Me is another example of the quality and versatility in German film-making of today, in this case with a distinct international arthouse appeal.'

Atef's film is NiKo Film's second feature after Lumber Kings (Die Koenige Der Nutzholzgewinnung), which was released theatrically in 2006.