As dealson the Lido get underway, Italian sales house Adriana Chiesa Enterprises (ACE)has sold Davide Ferrario's sleeper hit, After Midnight, to USdistributor Avatar Films.

Writtenand directed by local indie stalwart Ferrario, After Midnight tells the storyof a night watchman who guards Turin's National Cinema Museum.Actor-of-the-moment Giorgio Pasotti stars in the film, which has grossed overEuros 1.24m since its release in April.

ACE CEOAdriana Chiesa said the film, which will screen at the upcoming Valladolid FilmFestival, has now been sold to forty territories, including Spain (SherlockFilms), and France (Ocean Films).

AdrianaChiesa has also widely sold the Frazzi brothers' Karlovy Vary winner CertiBambini. Buyers include Australia's Palace and Benelux's Imagine Distribution.ACE is currently also in talks with buyers from France, Germany and Spain.

Inaddition, ACE has just picked up international sales rights to two titles thatare currently screening at the Venice Film Festival: Francesco Munzi's Saimir,and Rodolfo Bisatti's Il Giorno del Falco.

Saimir, which isplaying in the Orizzonti sidebar, focuses on the troubled relationship betweenan illegal Albanian immigrant and his son who live near Rome, and the difficultconditions they face. It is produced by Rome's Orisa Produzioni and indieproducer Gianluca Arcopinti's Pablo Film.

Il GiornoDel Falco, which is screening in Venice's Directors' Fortnight, isproduced by veteran Italian director Ermanno Olmi's Ipotesi Cinema, withbacking from Rai Cinema. Mikado holds Italian rights to the picture, which isset in the region that surrounds Venice and tells the tale of a TV reporter whodelves into the lives of two criminals he is following for a news story.

In themeantime, French sales house Wild Bunch has picked up international salesrights to Valia Santelli's Italian film Te Lo Leggo Negli Occhi, whichis screening in Orizzonti, while UK sales outfit The Works has taken oninternational distribution rights to Directors' Fortnight title Nemmeno IlDestino by Daniele Gaglianone.