Sealing yet another Sundance acquisition, Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the North American distribution rights to Jenniphr Goodman's The Tao Of Steve from New York's Good Machine.

The crowd-pleasing romantic comedy, about a group of friends living in Santa Fe, New Mexico who use the philosophies of Lao-Tzu, Kierkegaard and Marx to create a supposedly fool-proof theory of dating, won a special prize from the Sundance jury for the lead performance of actor Donal Logue. He plays an overweight slacker who uses his self-deprecating verbal charms to become a sly serial seducer.

The Tao Of Steve has already done brisk business overseas for Good Machine International, which chose to separate the domestic and international rights rather than let one distributor take worldwide rights. The tactic paid off handsomely. During the festival itself, France's Le Studio Canal Plus announced it had bought the film for France, Germany, Spain, Benelux and Switzerland to the film, which was presented in competition. In France The Tao Of Steve will be distributed by Bac Distribution, the recently created venture between Le Studio and Jean Labadie.

The Sony Pictures Classics acquisition comes on the heels of its other Sundance purchases Groove, for which it paid $1.5m for worldwide rights, and Shadow Magic. The specialist division already has ties with Good Machine, having earlier agreed to distribute Ang Lee's upcoming Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Starring Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh later this year.

"We are thrilled to be involved with a first time director who possesses such skill and vision," commented SPC Co-President Tom Bernard. "We think The Tao of Steve will make a perfect August release movie."