Film Finance Corporation Australia (FFC) today gavefinal approval on its investments in the animated feature $9.99 and a feature-length documentary investigating discreditedauthor Norma Khouri.

The stop-motion animation for adults, $9.99, is the first officialbig-screen co-production between Australian and Israel.Israeli director Tatia Rosenthal wrote the scriptwith Etgar Keret and hasbeen working with producers Emile Sherman from Australiaand Amir Harel from Israel.

Shermanlast produced Candy with MargaretFink, and Harel was one of the co-producers on Paradise Now, which won the Golden Globefor Best Foreign Film.

Fortissimo will handle international sales and DendyFilms the Australian release. According to the synopsis it weaves togetherstories from the residents of a Sydneyapartment block yearning for fulfilment, and offers slightly less than$10 worth of wisdom about the meaning of life.

The FFC has also approved investment indirector/writer/producer Anna Broinowski'sfeature-length investigative documentary about the furore surrounding the book Forbidden Lies, which was outed as aliterary hoax by the Australian media in mid-2004.

Khouricontinues to claim that the book tells the true story of a childhood friend whowas killed by male members of her Muslim family as a result of her chasterelationship with a Christian man.

Sally Regan is producing alongside Broinowski,Becker Films has international sales rights, and Palace will release the filmlocally.

The FFC has only recently begun to invest infeature-length documentaries. It's partners in thisone include the Adelaide Film Festival, the South Australian Film Corporation,ABC TV, sales agent Becker Films and local distributor PalaceFilms.

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