Ex-Winchester boss Gary Smith yesterday announced that he was back in the film business with a new sales and production outfit, Intandem Films.

The company is handling international rights on Bille August's thriller Return To Sender, the long-gestating project from writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (The World Is Not Enough) which recently started shooting in Copenhagen and Oklahoma.

The film stars Connie Nielsen as a young woman on Death Row and Aidan Quinn as the defence lawyer who takes her case. It is being produced by Michael Lunderskov of Danish production company, MovieFan (Song For A Raggy Boy) and co-produced by Stephen Woolley (of Company Of Wolves). Scandinavian rights have already been sold to Nordisk.

Joining Smith at Intandem is Andrew Brown, senior vice president of international sales and marketing and Denise Bridgeman. Both worked with Smith at Winchester.

Intandem, based in London, aims to package projects for the international market, concentrating on commercial projects. Lawyers Davenport Lyons are representing the company, which is shortly to announce a second project with Woolley.

Smith and his team will be launching the new outfit at the AFM later this month where it will be screening footage from Return To Sender.

Though he is no longer on the board of Winchester, Smith remains the largest single shareholder in the company which is currently in the throes of merging with Content. "I think it's a cracking move for Winchester," he commented.