Harvey Keitel and Leslie Ann Warren head the cast of Snatch, the first film to be produced in the US by Denmark's Thomas Mai.

The $4m satirical comedy is set to shoot in January, under the direction of Cecilia Miniucchi, director of Selena Remembered and Nitsch 98. The film is a San Francisco-set, multi-layered story of several characters whose lives intersect, with commentary by a passing chicken. Valeria Golino and Stefano Dionisi also star.

The picture will be sold internationally by Zentropa offshoot Trust Film Sales, which is currently negotiating a US domestic deal with Overseas/First Look Pictures.

Mai is the former head of sales at Trust and relocated to Los Angeles earlier this year to set up as a Zentropa-backed producer. His previous credits include Udo Kier-starring horror flick Possessed (Besat) and drama The Eighteens (Den Attende), both directed by Anders Roennow-Klarlund.