French sales and financingoutfit Wild Bunch has added another feather to its cap in signing a financingand distribution deal with France's Fidelite Productions.

Wild Bunch, which tookover Pan Europeenne Distribution in 2004 and which recently signed a $145mjoint-venture dedicated to acquiring and co-producing features via anin-the-works pan-European distribution network, will now handle financing anddistribution for the next eight films produced by Fidelite.

Theatrical releases willgo through distribution arm Pan-Europeenne while video will be handled by WildBunch video subsidiary Wild Side with international sales managed by WildBunch.

The eight film slateincludes the next film from Patrice Leconte, Mon Meilleur Ami, Francois Ozon's upcoming, and as yet untitled,English language film, the next projects from Valeria Bruni Tedeschi andLaurent Tirard and Eric Barbier's Le Serpent. Via a pre-existing deal, Ozon's film will be soldby Celluloid Dreams, however.

Wild Bunch principalBrahim Chioua told Screendaily.com that after the two companies had alreadyworked together on certain projects they had "discussions about the future andFidelite let us know that they were extremely interested in having differentdeals to what they have previously had in order to be more implicated in thedistribution of their films and to allow them to come in on the artistic sideas well as having a stronger financial interest. They wanted to be aco-producer with a group who can take the risk of distribution and thus reapthe benefits."

As such, Wild Bunch willprovide gap financing on Fidelite's upcoming eight pictures. A renewal of thedeal could also follow.

Sales will begin atJanuary's Unifrance Rendez Vous in Paris and continue through Berlin amongstother markets.

Fidelite, headed by OlivierDelbosc and Marc Missonnier, is perhaps best known as the producing home ofnouveau French auteur Francois Ozon with such films as 8 Women, Swimming Pool and 5x2 under its belt aswell as Yann Moix's 2004 smash Podium.