Newly formed French sales house Roissy Films-Celluloid Dreams is poised to become one of Europe's biggest players on the animation scene having added two animated features to its slate - The General And Bonapart and Three Old Ladies (Les Triplettes De Belleville).

The General And Bonapart, a new children's animated feature directed by Andrei Khrjanovski, is a Franco-Italian co-production produced by Stephane Tchal Gadjieff and Franck Verpillat. Delivery is scheduled for November 2001 in original English, French and Italian versions. Images are derived from original drawings by celebrated designer Barkhin.

Roissy-Celluloid is also selling Three Old Ladies (Les Triplettes De Belleville), a Franco-UK co-production financed by the BBC. It is set to be produced by France's Les Armateurs, the company behind hit animation Le Lion A La Belle Etoile.

Roissy-Celluloid is also selling the Planete Sauvage collection and has selected territorial rights to much of the Aardman Animation catalogue.

"We want to become a pole for the cream of European animation. Europe has the quality necessary to become a world force in the field," said Raphael Berdugo, co-chief of Roissy Celluloid.

Having recently engineered the merger of Roissy and Celluloid, Berdugo is set to add to its slate titles coming from its new sister company Celluloid Dreams and a new wedge of titles from the prolific Pierre Grise Productions. These include L'Homme Des Foules, a John Lvoff project with Maria De Madeiros and Jerzy Radziwilowicz; the now completed Jacques Rivette drama Va Savoir, starring Emmanuelle Beart, Sergio Castellito and Helene de Fougerolles; and Aie, a tangled love story directed by Sophie Fillieres.

Also on Roissy-Celluloid's AFM slate is hot Berlin title Water Drops On Burning Rocks and Ozon's next picture Sous Le Sable which is currently in pre-production with Charlotte Rampling and Maigret star Bruno Cremer linked.