Dutch-HongKong-based sales agent Fortissimo Films is to plunge deeper into the territoryit carved out on Seven Swords by investing in the US$16m martial artsepic A Battle Of Wisdom, directed by Hong Kong's Jacob Cheung.

Fortissimohas also acquired international sales rights to the title, which stars HongKong's Andy Lau (House of Flying Daggers) and Korea's Ahn Sung-kiopposite China's Wang Zhiwen and Choi Si-won.

Thefilm has been shooting since September in inner Mongolia and has recently movedto China's Yixian; delivery is estimated for late-2006.

Fortissimo,headed up by Wouter Barendrecht and Michael Werner, who negotiated the deal,took a similar arrangement on Tsui Hark's martial arts epic Seven Swords,which opened the Venice film festival this September.

Basedon an animated series set during China's warring states period, Battle'saction plays out circa 240 BC, with stunt co-ordination provided by SevenSwords' Tung Wai. Japan's Sakamoto Zensho will lens.

It'snot to be confused with John Woo's similarly-titled Battle Of Red Cliff,whose action takes place some 400 years later and is set to lens across Chinain mid-2006; Sony Pictures has taken worldwide rights outside Japan and Taiwanto Woo's $50m epic, billed as the most expensive in China.

JacobCheung, who directed Cageman and 2001'sNever Say Goodbye, also acts as producer on A Battle Of Wisdom, alongsideIseki Satoru, Lee Jooick and Huang Jianxin.Yoshitsuru Yoshimitsu will co-produce.Investors in the film include Comstock Ltd (Japan), Huayi Brothers FilmInvestment Co. Ltd. (China), Sundream Motion Pictures Ltd. (Hong Kong) andBoram Entertainment Inc. (Korea).

The deal was completed by Iseki Satoru of World Top(H.K.) Ltd and Michael J Werner of Fortissimo Films.