Regent Releasing has picked up North American rights from Fortissimo Films to Tatia Rosenthal's comedy $9.99 following its world premiere at Toronto.

Regent plans a limited spring 2009 release on the film, which uses stop-motion animation to portray the existence of apartment residents in Sydney searching for the meaning of life.

The voice cast includes Geoffrey Rush, Anthony LaPaglia, Joel Egerton and Barry Otto. Emile Sherman and Amir Harel produced and Mati Broudo and Hezi Bezalel served as executive producers.

$9.99 marks Regent's third acquisition from Fortissimo at Toronto after previously announced deals for Serbis and Tokyo Sonata. West Coast general manager and executive vice president of distribution and acquisitions Mark Reinhart negotiated the deal with Fortissimo's senior vice president of sales and acquisitions Winnie Lau.

'For $9.99, with its unique animated style and multi-faceted message, we couldn't have a better home in the US than Regent, which is emerging as a cutting-edge, gutsy, indie-focused player,' Lau said. 'They truly understand and believe in the stories from Etgar Keret and performances from the talent.'

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