Perrine Teze, currently managing director of TF1's film financing and sales division TF1 International, is expected to be appointed managing director of the Miramax/TF1 joint French distribution venture.

Teze, who came to TF1 from the Bouygues group (the broadcaster's main shareholder) to launch TF1 International's film co-financing and sales division, was instrumental in building the outfit into a major player on the international film scene.

Along with head of European co-productions Massimo Saidel and TF1 International's US representative Jean-Charles Levy, Teze has brought in a wide array of international titles, from Belgian film My Life In Pink to US filmmaker Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven, as well as China's Un Certain Regard opener The Little Chinese Seamstress, Spain's Alex de La Iglesias' 800 Bullets, Denmark's I Am Dina and Australian titles Luck by Peter Wellington and The Nugget, a comedy by Bill Bennet.

The TF1/Miramax 50/50 joint venture, which has still to be officially named, will operate along the lines of Disney's and Gaumont's Gaumont Buena Vista International (GBVI) and the Fox/UGC (UFD) joint French distribution ventures, where each partner covers the p&a costs for its own titles.