US independent Lot 47 Films has acquired North American rights to Michael Cuesta's L.I.E. which received acclaim on its recent world premiere in dramatic competition at the Sundance Film Festival.

An Alter Ego/Belladonna production, L.I.E. is a drama about a 15 year-old boy who loses just about everything and everyone he has in the space of a week, and the middle-aged marine who helps him find himself. Produced by Rene Bastian, Linda Moran and Cuesta, it stars newcomers Paul Franklin Dano and Billy Kay alongside veteran Brian Cox.

The deal was negotiated by Lot 47 co-president Jeff Lipsky and its vice president, acquisitions, Danae M Kokenos, with Steven C Beer of Rudolph & Beer on behalf of the producers.

Lot 47's 2001 slate is filling up. Currently on release are Im Kwon-taek's Chunyhang and Harry Sinclair's The Price Of Milk; set for release later in the year are Christopher Livingston's Hit & Runway, Stavros Kazantzidis' Russian Doll, Amos Kollek's Fast Food, Fast Women, Laurent Firode's Happenstance, Gary Burns' waydowntown and Blow Up Pictures' digital video production Never Get Outta The Boat executive produced by John Cusack.