French outfit Wild Bunch is to launch sales on Mon Meilleur Ami,(My Best Friend), Patrice Leconte's latestfeature at the Paris Rendez-Vous later this month.

Touted as a comedy in the style of François Veber, Leconte's new film tellsthe story of a snobbish art gallery owner who gradually comes to realise howunpopular he really is. He strikes up a relationship with a working-class,boorish taxi driver whom he in reality loathes, but tries to pass off as hisbest friend. Daniel Auteil stars as the galleryowner. Dany Boon (recently seen in Joyeux Noel) plays the taxi driver. The castalso includes Julie Gayet.

"It's a bit deeper than the usual Vebercomedy," Wild Bunch's Vincent Maraval commented ofthe project, which has just started shooting. During the ParisRendez-Vous (running from 20th-23rd January), somedistributors will be invited to visit the set. All territories are available.The prolific Leconte recently completed shooting onbig-budget comedy, Les Bronzes amispour la vie. It is released in France by Warner Bros in early February.

At the Rendez-Vous,Wild Bunch will also be premiering young cult director Kim Chapiron'scomedy-horror picture, Sheitan,starring (and produced by) Vincent Cassel. Chapiron is a member of Kourtrajme,the influential collective of young French filmmakers.

Another Wild Bunch Paris Rendez-Vous premiere is Raphaël Sibilla's documentary NoBody Is Perfect, set in the world of s&mand erotic body piercing. "It's a movie which is very shocking, surprising butalso human," Maraval commented.

Older Wild Bunch titlesscreening at the Rendez-Vous include Yilmaz Arslan's Locarno Silver Leopard winner, Fractricide, François Rotger's ThePassenger and Emmanuelle Bercot's Venice entry, Backstage.