Swiss distribution outfit cineworx has launcheda production arm cineworx filmproduktion and has boarded Maria Speth's secondfeature Madonnas (Madonnen) as its first project.

The German-Swiss-Belgian co-production betweenCologne-based Pandora Film, cineworx filmproduktion and the Dardenne brothers'Les Films du Fleuve begins shooting in Frankfurt from July 14 for four weekswith another stage of filming planned for the winter at locations in Cologneand Belgium.

The Euros 2m drama, which was presented as acase study at this week's International Co-Production Meeting in Cologne, isbeing backed by ZDF's Das Kleines Fernsehspiel, Filmstiftung NRW, HessenInvest, Hessische Filmfoerderung, BKM, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, GermanFederal Film Board (FFA), Eurimages and Wallimage.

Speth had previously directed The DaysBetween (In Den Tag Hinein) which won a Tiger Award at the RotterdamInternational Film Festival and the Grand Prix du Jury at Creteil in 2001.

In addition, cineworx's Pascal Traechslin told ScreenDaily.comin Cologne that he has acquired the Swiss rights to Fatih Akin's musicaldocumentary Crossing The Bridge - The Sound Of Istanbul (cineworx hadreleased Akin's Head-On last year) and Christian Petzold's Berlinalecompetition film Ghosts (Gespenster).