The distributor has picked up Derek Cianfrance’s Sundance title for Australia and New Zealand.

Palace Films has picked up Derek Cianfrance’s Sundance title Blue Valentine for Australian and New Zealand.

The distributor plans to release the romantic drama at Christmas. Nicolas Whatson, general manager of Palace, negotiated the sales with Hyde Park International president Mimi Steinbauer.

Whatson said: “The Weinstein Co bought North America rights to Blue Valentine at Sundance and the film is a significant step up for us in terms of price and scale.”

Elsewhere, Transmission, has just finalised its acquisition of local rights of Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini’s dance drama StreetDance 3D from Protagonist Pictures.

“It is perfect for our relationship with Paramount,” said Richard Payten, co-head of Transmission. “It requires a lot of muscle to get a film like this out there and we can plug it into their network. “