Newly formed Becker Films International has picked up sales duties on Osama, the award-winning Afghan film, and has unveiled hot Bollywood fusion film Marigold.

The Sydney-based company, operated by former MDP sales executive Reiko Bradley, was formed earlier this autumn as a joint venture between Bradley and Richard Becker's Australian distributor and producer Becker Films. It aims to finance and sell a range of Australian and international films.

Bradley already reports strong US and international interest in Marigold, a $10m Hollywood-Bollywood romantic comedy.

The story sees a young American actress travel to India where she is cast in a Bollywood musical. There she meets the man of her dreams, who is inconveniently, already engaged to someone else.

The film is written and directed by Willard Carroll and produced by Tom Wilhite. Bollywood star Salman Khan is already committed to the picture which will shoot early next year, but casting of the leading lady has yet to be completed and is being done in consultation with buyers.

'We can close some major territories as soon as the leading lady is cast. But we won't need many pre-sales to finance Marigold,' said Bradley. 'We have assembled a fantastic technical team and have what is a huge budget by Indian standards.' The film is likely to be structured as a UK-India co-production.

Osama, directed by Sedigh Barmak, had previously been handled by Frank Mannion's Swipe Films of the UK, which had a sales contract until the end of August and struck numerous sales deals at Cannes, where it screened in Directors' Fortnight, including a five territory arrangement with the Indie Circle buying consortium and with United Artists for the US. The switch was apparently made at the behest of the producers.

Also new on Bradley's slate (she has rights outside Italy and Australasia) is Robert Connolly's Three Dollars .