Lions Gate Films International is continuing its foray into foreign-language cinema by acquiring worldwide rights (with the exclusion of Latin America) to Mexican box office hit Gimme Power (Todo El Poder). The move follows a similar acquisition last week of Cannes Critic's Week contender Love's A Bitch (Amores Perros) (Screendaily, April 26).

Lions Gate has also picked up Korean detective action thriller Nowhere To Hide, directed by Lee Myung-Se. The acquisitions dovetail with Lions Gate's aim to establish a world cinema business.

Both Gimme Power and Love's A Bitch are produced by start-up Mexican production company Altavista Films, led by Francisco Gonzalez Compean. Altavista's sister company, distributor NuVision, holds Latin American rights to both titles.

The acquisition of both Spanish-language pics was negotiated by Joe Drake, president of Lions Gate Films International, and NuVision president Pedro Rodriguez. According to Drake, he has been tracking the films since January's NATPE programming market, after which he flew straight to Mexico "We are convinced that good films will always have an audience, regardless of language," Drake said.

Altavista and NuVision's parent company is the well-funded Estudio Mexico Films, a two-year-old joint venture of Mexico's largest live entertainment holding company, CIE, and financial giant, Inbursa.

Directed and produced by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and executive produced by Gonzalez Compean and Martha Sosa, Love's A Bitch revolves around three characters whose lives intersect after a car crash. It debuts in Critic's Week.

Gimme Power makes its world premiere at the Cannes Market 2000. Directed by Fernando Sarinana, the black comedy about a filmmaker in Mexico City is the second highest grossing domestic film of all time, grossing more than $7m. It follows Sex, Shame And Tears (Sexo, Pudor Y Lagrimas) which scored $12.4m.