EdwardNoeltner's ambitious international sales house Cinema Management Group (CMG)has bolstered its AFM slate with all international theatrical and DVD rights tothe Buster Keaton Collection.

The collectionincludes all 12 of the silent comedy master's features from the 1920s, as wellas 18 shorts and two specials including Vernon P Becker's 1968 documentary TheGreat Stone Face.

Titles includesuch time-honoured classics as Sherlock Jr, The Navigator, and The General. The shorts roster comprises OneWeek, Convict 13, Cops andThe Frozen North. CMGnegotiated the package deal with the Douris Corporation.

"As alreadyseen in the United States and most recently in France, where following theCannes 2004 Film Festival tribute to Keaton French distributor MK2 has hadgreat DVD sell thru results, there is a strong demand for these timeless comedyclassics," Noeltner said.

"We will beoffering the collection as a special theatrical event to international filmfestivals and to distributors as a collection of theatrical films and a seriesof six DVDs, each of which will comprise two Keaton feature films and threeKeaton shorts as bonus material.

"With therecently restored versions of the feature films now available and the shorts asbonus material, we expect to hit a home run on the international market withthis wonderful Keaton collection."

DourisCorporation chief and former Bafta LA chairman Gary Dartnall added: "We'vebeen talking with CMG for nearly two years about bringing the Keatons back onto the market again. The Keaton retrospective in Cannes 2004 was a big success,but we just weren't prepared to separate the Keatons out from the rest of our750 -title library of classics.

"CMG'spassion for the Keaton collection and Noeltner's vast experience sellingclassic titles over the past 15 years convinced us to go with CMG."

CMG handledforeign sales on the animated feature Hoodwinked, which opened at number two in the UKthrough Momentum last weekend and has already grossed more than $3.3m.

The company'sslate includes screwball comedy The Treatment starring Famke Janssen, Chris Eigeman andIan Holm, and the entire slate from Moriah Films, the Simon Wiesenthal Center'sdocumentary division.