France's Wild Bunch hasadded a crop of high-profile pictures to its slate including a $35m warriorepic from famed Czech director Ivan Passer, and Danis Tanovic's Hell,the second part of a trilogy originally written for late-director KrzysztofKieslowski.

Other additions include thefirst English-language film from cult French director Leos Carax and a stylishpenguin documentary co-produced with Buena Vista France.

First up is Nomad,produced by Milos Forman and Ram Bergman and financed 70% by the Kazakgovernment. Wild Bunch's Vincent Maraval says the film is "so amazing it'shallucinatory! It's like Braveheart meets The Brotherhood Of The Wolfmeets Gladiator."

The story of a young warriorin 18th century Kazakhstan who must unite three warring tribes, the film stars Torqueand Crazy/Beautiful actor Jay Hernandez, Brotherhood Of The Wolfstar Mark Dacascos and Jason Scott Lee. Passer, best known for Cutter's Way,is directing, while the rest of the crew is a who's who of boutique talent witha script by Nikita Mikhalkov regular Rustam Ibragimbekov and shot by DayAfter Tomorrow's cinematographer Ueli Steiger.

Nomad is currently in post-production with Wild Bunchhandling world rights outside the former Soviet block. The film was shot inEnglish and the local language but will be released in a subtitled Englishversion.

Wild Bunch has also acquiredrights to Hell written by Krzysztof Piesiewicz as part of a trilogy thatbegan with Tom Tykwer's Heaven and will conclude with Purgatory.

As directed by Tanovic, whomade his reputation at Cannes 2001 with the award-winning No Man's Land,it will be a winding black film with a lot of humour. It's the story of a manwrongly convicted of paedophilia and the impact that has on his family afterhis death. Hell will shoot in September in France on a Euros 7m budget and witha big name French actress.

Along with France'sRectangle Films, Wild Bunch will co-produce and handle sales for, Leos Carax's Scars,an English-language Euros 13m project currently in preparation and scouting bigUS stars.

The Emperor's Journey spent one year shooting the life and mating habitsof emperor penguins in the Antarctic and is currently in the editing stage. AEuros 3m co-production between Buena Vista International Productions France andBonne Pioche Productions, the film has elements of Le Peuple Migrateuraccording to Maraval who will sell the film internationally. Buena Vista willrelease the Luc Jacquet-directed film in France in January 2005.

Wild Bunch has also takenrights to the first film from Valia Santella who has often crewed on the filmsof Nanni Moretti. Moretti will produce the Euros 3m Je Te Lis Dans Les Yeuxwhich Maraval likens to The Best Of Youth spanning three generations ofwomen. The film will be released in late 2004.

Wild Bunch also hasinternational rights to Michael Winterbottom's sexually explicit Nine Songs.