Confirming its position as one of the more adventurous Italian distributors of arthouse fare, Rome-based outfit Teodora Film has picked up Italian rights to controversial Berlinale prizewinner The Swamp (La Cienaga).

Argentinian newcomer Lucrecia Martel's drama about two large families trying to cope with each other during a long hot summer won the Alfred Bauer prize for best debut feature at this year's Berlin International Film Festival. While the film's non-traditional narrative structure met with a mixed critical response at the Berlinale, Martel's script had previously also won a Sundance/NHK Filmmakers Award in 1999.

At Cannes, Teodora's Cesare Petrillo also closed a deal on acclaimed director Colin Nutley's Gossip, the follow-up to his Oscar-nominated Under The Sun (Under Solen). Gossip is an ensemble piece starring ten of Sweden's top actresses auditioning for the role of Queen Christina in a remake of the Greta Garbo classic. Sweden's Svensk Filmindustri is handling international sales.

Meanwhile, Petrillo is also involved as a co-producer and local distributor on the Brazilian As Tres Marias (Women's Will), a film directed by Alvizio Abranches about three sisters who seek revenge for their father's murder. Currently in post-production, the film was written by Hector Dahlia and co-produced by Brazil's Ravima Filmes.

Earlier this year, Teodora distributed Krampack, Cesc Gay's Spanish title about the friendship between two teenage boys and their discovery of sexuality during a summer holiday.