Amreeka made an impressive debut in France last week, opening June 19 on 90 screens through French distributor Memento Films. After 12 days the Canadian copro had gained 12th spot in the national box office with an impressive 80,000 admissions.

Directed by Cherien Dabis and produced by Toronto-born Christina Piovesan, the U.S./Kuwait/Canada coproduction won the FIPRESCI prize in the Directors’ Fortnight at the past Cannes film festival. It premiered at Sundance and was the opening-night selection for the New Directors/New Films program at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in March. Buffalo Gal Pictures of Winnipeg and Alcina Pictures of Toronto were coproducers.

According to E1 International EVP Charlotte Mickie, who sold the film internationally, Amreeka scored positive notices from such major French publications as Le Figaro and Le Monde and a 92% audience satisfaction rating in French trade paper Ecran Total.

The movie has been sold to over 40 markets, including Australia, Switzerland, Spain, Scandinavia, the Benelux and the U.S. E1 is releasing in Canada this fall.

Debut writer/director Dabis tells the story of a single Palestinian mother who emigrates from the hardships of Ramallah to middle America with her teenage son. In search of a better life, they find themselves in a new kind of culture clash at home, at school and at work.

In a statement, Mickie said 2009 is shaping up to be an exceptional year for her unit. ‘We’re looking forward to the U.S. release of several of our movies over the summer. We’re a proven player now in the theatrical arena internationally and movies like Amreeka have made that possible.’