French salesoutfit Wild Bunch has made a swathe of sales on hot Italian documentary VivaZapatero!

The documentary, which has screened in Venice and at theSan Sebastian Film Festival, has sold to Spain (Golem), Belgium (Cineart),Holland (A-Film), France (Haut et Court) and Switzerland (Frenetic).

Directed bycomedian Sabina Guzzanti, Viva Zapatero focuses on the sticky issue ofcensorship in the Italian media. The film features Nobel literary prizewinnerDario Fo, and also contains interviews with Italian journalists Enzo Biagi andMichele Santoro and comic Daniele Luttazzi, who had their programmes withdrawnfrom TV after prime minister Silvio Berlusconi publicly complained that theyhad made "criminal" use of television when they took aim at him in the run-upto the 2001 national elections.

Guzzanti herselfsaw her satirical program RAIOT removed from the airwaves after only oneepisode was broadcast on RAI in November 2003.

In Italy, VivaZapatero was released on September 16 on 32 screens - and has alreadybecome only the second documentary after Farenheit 9/11 to enter the Italianbox office top 10.

It has alreadyclocked in 74,000 admissions and grossed Euros 436,900 for an average of Euros 3,104 per screen - the third highestscreen average next only to Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and TheFantastic Four.

The Romedistributor has already widened the film's release to 58 screens and willincrease it to 70 sites next weekend.