At last year’s American Film Market, Montreal-based Equinox acquired the indie hit of the year, but this year the Canadian distributor was hoping to sell it.

At the 23rd annual American Film Market, held in Santa Monica, Calif. Feb. 19 through 26, Equinox sold the Cinemaginaire production, Mambo Italiano to major international territories. Icon Films will distribute the Canadian feature in the U.K. and Australia, Lola Films will distribute in Spain and Italy, and A-Films Distribution will release the film in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg.

A deal with Germany will close in a couple of days, but ‘there’s a bit of a war between who is going to get it,’ says Yves Dion, Equinox VP distribution. ‘We’re talking with three distributors in the U.S. seriously now, but there are still three or four who haven’t seen it, so they need to see it in the coming weeks or days and then we’ll make a decision.’

For Equinox, Mambo Italiano comes on the heels of its success with My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which grossed more than $26 million domestically. The film’s world box office sales have topped US$278 million.

Mambo Italiano created quite the buzz at the market. ‘We have over $4 million in international sales on the picture so far, and we anticipate another $3 million to $3.5 million at Cannes,’ says Equinox VP and COO Michael Mosca.

And this success was generated at what Canadian distributors agree was a slow market with low selling prices. ‘Everyone was complaining that they were far from their asking price, and we were very close to our asking price in every territory and in one instance exactly on,’ says Dion.

Directed by Emile Goudreault (Nuit de noces), Mambo Italiano, like Greek Wedding, centers on an ethnic community. The $5-million feature stars Luke Kirby (Lost and Delirious), Ginette Reno, Paul Sorvino and Mary Walsh in a story about a gay couple struggling within the confines of their Italian community. The film will be released domestically in the summer.

Mosca says Mambo’s AFM sales indicate that a trend away from distributors prebuying scripts, a concern for independent producers in the States, may prove to be an advantage for domestic production. ‘All the buyers are pretty cautious these days and what we’re doing is waiting to see the finished product. And who takes advantage of that? The studios who have internal money and maybe some Canadian films.’

Equinox also made some acquisitions from California-based Gold Circle Films, which sold them Greek Wedding last year, including Poolhall Junkies, starring Christopher Walken and Rick Schroeder from director Mars Callahan; Dysfunctional Family, directed by George Gallo, with star Eddie Griffin; and Sonny, directed by Nicolas Cage who also stars. ‘We’ve basically closed an understanding with [Gold Circle] that takes us to about 2005,’ says Mosca.

Christal Films of Montreal also had a successful market selling its French-language thriller, Le Collectionneur, to more than 10 territories and acquiring Canadian distribution rights to two French films, Les Egares, directed by Andre Techine, and Snow Boarder.

Le Collectionneur, sold through international sales agent Cinema Vault Releasing, was picked up by German distributor Tiberius Film, Japan’s M3 Entertainment and Take Off in France. In addition, it will be released theatrically in countries including Greece, Turkey, Russia, Mexico and Central America. President Christian Larouche says Christal Films will be looking to make sales to five or six more territories, including Spain and Italy, at Cannes.

AFM sales indicate the commercially driven thriller, a first for director Jean Beaudin, has successfully attracted the wider audience it was after.

‘Everybody tells me we have made a film like the Americans, so I’m very pleased to hear that. To sell a French film with subtitles, even though it’s a thriller, it’s tough because normally people screen more in English,’ says Larouche.

But not everyone was at the AFM to make sales. Pierre Brousseau of Seville Pictures was there to acquire a few good films, and says, as a niche player, he did not have to worry about hunting down the big commercial film of the year, like many distribs at the market.

Seville acquired the Chinese film Purple Butterfly from director Lou Ye, starring Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). ‘I think it is the most interesting foreign film that will be introduced at Cannes this year,’ says Brousseau.

Seville picked up Moi Cesar from director Richard Berry and in addition prebought French director Francois Ozon’s next film 5×2, scheduled for release in 2004. Seville also distributed Ozon’s 8 femmes and holds the rights to his upcoming feature Swimming Pool, due to be released in the fall.

Although TVA did not finalize any deals at the market, VP John Fulton says there are several deals in the works, which should be closed before Cannes.