Palm Pictures has acquiredall US and Caribbean rights to 13 (Tzameti), the critically acclaimed French thriller directedby Georgian first-time film-maker Gela Babluani.

The black-and-white film hadits world premiere in the Venice Film Festival last September where it won theDe Laurentiis Award for best first film, recently won the World Cinema grandjury prize for best dramatic feature at the Sundance Film Festival and will bescreened in the forthcoming New Directors/New Films festival in New York.

The deal was negotiated byDavid Koh, head of acquisitions and production for Palm, with Florence Stern,head of international sales at MK2.

MK2 released the film inFrance; Palm plans a platform theatrical release in the autumn followed by aDVD release on the Palm label.

Thefilm, around which numerous US producers are buzzing for remake rights, is theintriguing tale of a builder (played by the director's brother George Babluani)who, through a series of bizarre circumstances, gets caught up in a deadlyunderground game of Russian roulette.

"It's a mix of Rififi,Man Bites Dog and Fight Club," said Koh in a statement. "It should become a cultclassic."