Former THINKFilm director of distribution and marketing Dylan Marchetti has launched Variance Films and will kick off with the domestic releases of Walking On Dead Fish and Smother.

Variance will target small films that typically struggle to get into theatres in an increasingly overcrowded market place and Marchetti plans to be a regular face on the festival and market acquisitions circuit.

Franklin Martin's New Orleans-set sports drama Walking On Dead Fish is a co-release with Dutchmen Films and is scheduled to open in New Orleans on September 5 followed by regional expansion two weeks later.

Smother is a dark comedy starring Diane Keaton, Dax Shepard and Liv Tyler and will open in the top five markets on September 26 followed by nationwide expansion. Vince Di Meglio directed.

'While there is no shortage of independent films being made today, there are far too many noteworthy films that are struggling to find distribution and often winding up going straight-to-video,' Marchetti said.

'Variance Films is designed to take these smaller films to theatres - tailoring each release to the specific film for the specific US markets, even when it doesn't fit the standard theatrical NY/LA expansion model.'

Marchetti previously handled the release of the Vietnamese war film Journey From The Fall at ImaginAsian Pictures, a division of ImaginAsian Entertainment, which he helped launch. He previously worked for AMC Theaters.