Rialto Distribution hasacquired writer/director Michel Gondry's TheScience Of Sleep for Australia and New Zealand, hot on the heels of its sale to Warner IndependentPictures for North America and the UK at Sundance.

The inventive film starsGael Garcia Bernal (The MotorcycleDiaries) and Charlotte Gainsbourg as young neighbours in a playful andtouching friendship in which Bernal's character finds the vivid and fancifuldreamlife that he has lived since boyhood hijacked by romantic stirrings thatturn both their lives upside-down.

"This film not only presentsa totally unique and inspiring world, but invites the audience inside to sharein the sheer fun of it all," says Rialto chief executive Kelly Rogers. "Superb direction,superb performances and superbly realised. I couldn't be happier."

Rogers and Rialtoacquisitions executive Rob Ruminski negotiated the deal with Loic Trocme fromGaumont. Says Ruminski: "Among his peers, Michel Gondry is rare, perhaps evensingular, in his ability to amaze, amuse, and astound an audience with hisvisual prowess, while still delivering emotionally resonant, human stories."