After a year'sabsence, UIP releases are to be handled by a new distributor in Serbia andMontenegro.

UIPs new localdistributor, Taramount Film was launched in Belgrade last week, following thecollapse of Vans, its former principal distributor in the territory.

Taramount Film isa sister company of Slovenian Karantanija Cinemas and Croatian VTI, who havebeen distributing UIP's releases in their respective territories for the past15 years.

Taramount planson releasing some 35 films annually in Serbia and Montenegro, including someindependent US product as well as regional and local titles.

By the end ofAugust the company released Timeline,School Of Rock, Mean Girls, Along Came Polly, Paycheck, Dawn Of The Dead, Shrek 2 and Terminal. The Stepford Wives and TheBourne Supremacy should follow in September.

Serbia andMontenegro is now covered by all the Hollywood majors except for Disney, whoseformer local distributor Bandur Film suffered a similar fate to that of Vans.

Disney isbelieved to be planning to decide who it will go with by the end of the summer,and industry rumours are that it will probably be Delta Video, Serbian partnerof Greece's Prooptiki.