Robbie Moffat and Mairi Sutherland's UK-based production and sales company Palm Tree Entertainment has a slate of three historical biopics in development: the $10m Chopin, about the composer; $20m Secret Image about the hidden homosexual love life of Leonardo Da Vinci; and the $15m Voyage Of Dream about the Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie. The latter would be a Canadian co-produdtion to shoot across Canada.

The company also has two finished projects screening in the market: Robbie Moffat's Seven Crosses and Phil Stagg's Barefooting. Meanwhile, Palm Tree has sold Axe Raiders to CIS (Lizard).

Seven Crosses is a thriller about a brother and sister who are starving farm owners who take desperate measures to survive, killing their B&B guests. Barefooting, is about two men running a cross-country race to win the heart of their young love.

Seven Crosses screens today at 1400 in Grays 5 and again on May 22 at 2000 in Palais F. Barefooting screenings in Palais E also on May 22.

Susanne Kendall, who is one of the stars of Seven Crosses with Paul Cassidy, also stars in Moffat's 1815-set Sisters Grimm, now in post and partly inspired by Coleridge's Rime Of The Ancient Mariner. She says of Seven Crosses: 'It has elements of horror but it's quite tongue in cheek and build suspense very well.'

Moffat says the UK independent sector is strong. 'The indie sector is healthy, with private equity and the tax credit making producers much more empowered.'

And Palm Tree's Mairi Sutherland, whose offices are based at the UK's Pinewood Studios, makes her own directorial debut this summer with Photoshoot.

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