Santa Monica-based saleshouse Lightning Entertainment has added Alejandro Lozano's hit Mexican comedy MatandoCabos to its slate and will beginselling international rights excluding North America and Mexico at Cannes.

In a related development,Televisa Cine USA, the US distribution arm of Mexico's Televisa Cine, willrelease the picture in June following a storming Mexican run last year thatgenerated more than $7m in ticket sales.

Matando Cabos centres on a group of teenagers whoseplot to kidnap one of the most powerful men in Mexico goes horribly awry whenthey discover they have wrong. Ana Claudia Talancon, Pedro Armendariz and TonyDalton star.

Billy Rovzar andFernando Rovzar produced the picture from a screenplay by Alvaro Bernat,Kristoff Razcinsky, and Lozano.

Both deals wereclosed with Lemon Films' Billy and Fernando Rovzar, with Lightning co-presidentRichard Guardian, Rich Goldberg and Marc Greenberg negotiating internationalrights with the brothers and attorney Paul Almond.

"With tremendouscrossover potential, the film is a great asset to our slate, adding to thediversity of our offerings at this year's market," Guardian said in astatement.

"It is also partof our expanding relationship with Televisa Cine and our plans to identifycommon interests for the future." Matando Cabos is Lightning's third Mexicantitle in recent years following Nicotina and A Day Without A Mexican.

"Through our USvideo distribution releases we have demonstrated that there is strong demandfor product that Latinos can relate to," Televisa Cine and Televisa Cine USApresident Eckehardt von Damm said in a statement.

"We plan toapply our experience and understanding of this audience to the theatricalmarket and expand our US operations and releases."

Lightning'sCannes slate includes Will Arntz, Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente's metaphysicalessay What The Bleep Do We Know'!; Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine's documentary Ballet Russes; Ariel Vromen's hip thriller SimpleLies; Kevin Carlin'sromantic comedy The Extra; and Marc Gracie's comedy You And Your Stupid Mate.