Sony Pictures Classics (SPC) has paid $1.5m to buy worldwide rights to rave drama Groove, the directorial debut of editor Greg Harrison, which is playing in the American Spectrum section of this year's Sundance Film Festival.

Set over the course of one night, Groove follows a disparate group of characters as they prepare to go to a rave gathering. Harrison wrote, directed, co-produced and edited the film which stars Lola Glaudini, Hamish Linklater, Denny Kirkwood and Steve Van Wormer.

SPC has been stepping up multi-territory acquisitions such as Zhang Yang's Shower (for which it took North America, Australia and New Zealand), Agnieszka Holland's The Third Miracle (North America and Australia), Takeshi Kitano's Kikujiro (North America and Australia) and Soren Kragh-Jacobsen's Mifune (North America and Australia).

The deal was the first to be closed at this year's festival but others are bound to follow, with offers already on the table for female boxing movie Girlfight and intense activity surrounding British comedy Saving Grace starring Brenda Blethyn, period drama Songcatcher featuring Golden Globe winner Janet McTeer, Good Machine's romantic comedy The Tao Of Steve and Dan McCormack's pre-millennial drama Other Voices which stars Campbell Scott and Stockard Channing among others.