Hong Kong's CelestialPictures has signed a long-term deal with Image Entertainment for US andCanadian video distribution of 30 titles from its Shaw Brothers library.

Titles covered by the dealinclude martial arts classics such as The Shadow Boxer, Heaven And Hell and The Magic Blade, along with a range of other genres including horrortitles and period dramas.

"There is a high demand forthese hard-to-find titles of unsurpassed quality and we will be working withCelestial to make their incredible movies more accessible to audiencesthroughout North America," said Image senior vice president of worldwideprogramming Barry Gordon.

The deal is in addition to along-term agreement that Celestial signed in 2003 with Miramax Films for 50titles for video and video-on-demand distribution in North America, the UK,Australia and New Zealand. The Miramax deal, which also includedEnglish-language remake rights to two Shaw Brothers titles, is still in effect.

Celestial has established aworldwide network of distributors for its 760-title Shaw Brothers library andis now ramping up its involvement in new product. The company is acquiring andco-financing Asian productions such as Peter Chan's Venice closer PerhapsLove.

The company is alsoattending the AFM as a buyer for Hong Kong and some other Asian territories.Its recent acquisitions include Korean titles The Red Shoes and Cello.