A slew of Australian genre projects will be on offer to buyers at the AFM. One of several market debuts from Arclight is Jamie Blanks' thriller Long Weekend, a remake of the highly regarded 1977 film of the same name. Jim Caviezel and Claudia Karvan will star as a couple whose disrespect for the natural environment during a camping trip provokes the ire of Mother Nature.

Darclight's genre label is handling Jon Hewitt's stylish thriller Acolytes, starring Joel Edgerton, about three teenagers trying to outsmart a killer, which screened at Toronto, and Jody Dwyer's Dying Breed, a horror film set in the Tasmanian rainforest, which screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.

Other Arclight titles include Siu Ming Tsui's Champions, a drama about the Chinese martial-arts team at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, and Mr Bones 2, a sequel to the popular South African comedy by the same creative team, including director Gray Hofmeyr and Leon Schuster in the title role.

Odin's Eye Entertainment's documentary Salute tells the story of two black athletes who take a stand during the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. The sales agent's other market debut is John V Soto and Jeffrey Gerritsen's thriller Crush, which has a fresh-faced cast and is about a man who is seduced then stalked by a woman.

As part of an overhaul of the Australian film financing system, the Film Finance Corporation (FFC) backed more than the usual number of films before closing its doors on June 30. Most projects on the diverse slate are not quite finished - and the AFM has never been a popular market for Australian debuts. Many are represented by UK sales agents including Bankside Films (family dramas Accidents Happen and Blessed, Aboriginal musical Bran Nue Dae and thriller Coffin Rock), ContentFilm (road movie Last Ride and political thriller Balibo) and Pathe (Jane Campion's period romance Bright Star). Most have debuted earlier in the year.

NZ Film heads across the Pacific with one market debut: Show Of Hands, an off-beat romance written and directed by Anthony McCarten from his own novel. The story is set during a sleep-deprivation endurance test and stars Melanie Lynskey.

New Zealand has created a supportive climate to encourage well-resourced and ambitious films. NZ Film is showing footage from anticipated projects including Jonathan King's teen fantasy Under The Mountain and Niki Caro's period film The Vintner's Luck.