German sales agent BetaCinema has moved into English-language features for its line-up at the forthcoming Cannes market.

The Munich-based outfit, which is now headed by Andreas Rothbauer (international sales) and Robert Czajkowski (acquisitions), has picked up Canadian filmmaker Ruba Nadda's feature debut Coldwater, starring Arsinee Khanijan, Simon Abkarian and Michael Riley, and Lithuanian filmmaker's Audrius Juzenas' Ghetto, starring 'new face' Sebastian Huelk, Erika Maroszan and Heino Ferch.

Sales for Coldwater will also extend to Germany "which allows us also to develop new partnerships with German distributors," according to Rothbauer. The film goes into production later this month in Canada and will be executive produced by Atom Egoyan and Simone Urdl.

Menawhile, shooting on Ghetto, which is based on Joshua Sobol' s Broadway play about real events in the Jewish ghetto of Vilnius during the Second World War, will begin in Lithuania on May 20.

In addition, BetaCinema has picked up three local German features: Igor Zaritzky's psychological thriller Devot which screened in the Berlinale's Panorama section in February: Leander Haussmann's second feature Berlin Blues (Herr Lehmann) after Sonnenallee, which will be released by Delphi Film in September; and Gregor Schnitzler's bittersweet comedy Soloalbum which is being positioned by BetaCinema as Germany's answer to High Fidelity.

Robert Czajkowski told Screendaily that being entrusted with Soloalbum "marks the first collaboration with TeleMuenchen Group (TMG) and the beginning of a longer term partnership for the future."

This development is seen as a milestone - since the idea of BetaCinema ever handling a film from the TMG stable would have been unthinkable under the company's previous owner, Leo Kirch, who was an arch-rival of Kloiber.