Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme has joined the board of advisors of article27, the on-line entertainment syndicator that is rapidly expanding international activities.

Demme's appointment comes as article27 is partnering with UK indie distributor Optimum Releasing for a theatrical release of German title Aimee & Jaguar. Article27 picked up all rights to the film in the UK after the film's US release through Zeitgeist Films, which partnered with the fledgling Web outfit to take the German-language title to more than $700,000.

"Article27 is breaking ground in the ways in which films are distributed," declared Demme, whose credits include Silence Of The Lambs and Philadelphia. "The company is creating new and better opportunities for film-makers to get their films seen by audiences."

Article27 aims to use partnership deals with theatrical distributors to augment its on-line exploitation of films. The London-based company, founded last year with a moniker coined from Article 27 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, recently secured rights to more than 250 films from sources including RAI Trade, the British Film Institute and Svensk.