Sidney Kimmel Entertainment(SKE) is launching its international sales house Kimmel International withformer Miramax executive Mark Lindsay (pictured) heading up the division.

Lindsay, who most recentlyserved as senior vice president of sales and distribution for Miramax, willhandle sales on all future SKE titles, excluding the company's current slate offour titles.

The executive, who will bebased in New York but plans to visit SKE's West Coast offices frequently, isheading to Cannes and new announcements are expected once the market kicks off.

"I'm thrilled to be joininga new company that is well financed and can make any film it wants," Lindsaytold ScreenDaily. "I'm alsodelighted to be working with someone of Sidney's experience and taste."

Lindsay added that thetiming for the new company coincided with a demand for non-studio product inthe international marketplace.

"We're filling a voidbecause we don't have any budget constraints at SKE, and we're going to be wiseabout the projects we get involved on," he added,

"People will pay the rightprice if the product is good, and we're looking forward to introducing a steadyflow of quality projects to the market over time."

"We believe that our entryinto foreign sales will be beneficial to the growth of the company and itscontinuous success in producing artistically daring and commercially appealingfilms for the global market place," explained SKE chief executive officerKimmel said in a statement.

Kimmel himself is thefounding chairman of Jones Apparel Group, a Fortune 500 company and one of theworld's leading designers and marketers of branded apparel, footwear andaccessories, with such recognizable brands as Jones New York, Lauren by RalphLauren, Polo Jeans Company, Nine West, Evan-Picone, Gloria Vanderbilt.

A philanthropist who hasgiven more than $420m to various causes, Kimmel is also a partner in New York'srenowned Cipriani restaurant and is part owner of the Miami Heat professionalbasketball team.

In the past, Kimmel's filmcompany has produced such films as9 1/2 Weeks, Clan of the Cave Bear,Blame It on Rio and The Emperor'sClub.

SKE's current slate ofpictures includes Agnieszka Holland's in-production Copying Beethoven, with Ed Harris and Diane Kruger; Bart Freundlich's TrustThe Man starring Julianne Moore,David Duchovny, Billy Crudup and Maggie Gyllenhaal; Nick Cassavetes' AlphaDog starring Emile Hirsch, BruceWillis, Justin Timberlake and Sharon Stone; and Neverwas, which stars Aaron Eckhart, Ian McKellan, BrittanyMurphy, Nick Nolte, Alan Cumming and Jessica Lange.

Myriad Pictures is handlingsales on Copying Beethoven,Mandate Pictures is selling Neverwas, and Capitol Films is selling Trust The Man and Alpha Dog.