Dutchproducer Riba Film, Germany's Pandora Film and South Africa's Do Productionshave partnered to finance the Euros 4.6m Smokeand Ochre, an English language biopic about the South African poet IngridJonker.

Thefilm was presented at this year's project market Cinemart in Rotterdam. It willbe the first English language feature of successful Dutch director Willem vande Sande Bakhuyzen whose credits include Family(2001), The Enclave (2002) and Cloaca (2003).

Thescript was penned by Forgivenesswriter Greg Latter. Shooting takes place in South Africa and is planned forspring 2006.

IngridJonker was a well known and acclaimed white poet living in the South Africa ofthe 1950's and 1960's. Her mother went mad and died young, while her father -who rejected her and left her to be raised by black servants - rose within theranks of the apartheid government.

"Financing is goingremarkably well", said Arry Voorsmit from Riba Films, who said that thepartners were looking for another 20% of the film's budget. "There was alreadya lot of interest for the project at the Cinemart. Everybody seems to feel theimportance of this story being told."