Effervescent new UK outfit Soda Pictures, set up in 2002 by Eve Gabereau and Edward Fletcher, confirmed yesterday that it has taken UK rights to The Miracle Of Berne from Bavaria Film.

Soda plans to release the football-themed drama, set at the time of West Germany's 1954 World Cup win, in the summer on 8-10 prints to coincide with the Euro 2004 soccer tournament in Portugal.

Meanwhile, Soda has announced it will be staging a London retrospective of the works of Canadian director Guy Maddin later this year to support the release of Maddin's latest feature, The Saddest Music In The World.

Also on Soda's current release slate are Spare Parts, which it is releasing on March 12, Deserted Station, Facing Window and Reconstruction. Its first release was Balzac And The Chinese Seamstress. Soda is one of an increasing number of distributors handling foreign language and art house fare in the UK as exhibitors like Odeon and UGC become more adventurous in their programming strategy.

Gabereau and Fletcher have also launched a new "speciality" arm, Soda Projects, through which (among other activities) they will handle programming at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square, London.