by Brian Brooks/indieWIRE

Award-winning Berlin 2005 feature "Paradise Now" by Hany Abu-Assad has been acquired by Warner Independent Pictures in a North American and U.K. rights deal. Mark Gill, president of the L.A. based distributor announced the pact Tuesday. WIP senior vice president, production and acquisitions, Paul Federbush negotiated the deal with Hengameh Panahi and Charlotte Mickie of Celluloid Dreams. Warner Independent Pictures plans an October 2005 release.

"Paradise Now," which won the Berliner Morgenpost Reader's Prize at the Berlinale last week, as well as an Amnesty International prize, is the story of two Palestinian childhood friends who have been recruited for a suicide mission in Tel Aviv. It centers on what is presumably their final day on earth; they are sworn to secrecy and cannot utter a word of their plans to their families. The following day, the two are sent to the border, but are ultimately separated from one another, leaving each one up to their own fate, while struggling with their convictions. In the words of Warner Independent announcement, the film "gives voice to the Palestinian condemnation of violence while offering insight into the individuals behind such heinous crimes."

[A scene from Hany Abu-Assad's "Paradise Now". Image provided by Warner Independent Pictures.]

"The combination of the audience award and Amnesty International award for 'Paradise Now' in Berlin prove what we have always believed about the movie -- that the film is humanistic and balanced, politically scrupulous and accessible," commented Panahi in a statement. "The release of this movie in America will be an historic event. We are proud that the distributor will be Warner Independent Pictures."

In Berlin, the Israeli Film Fund announced that it would offer the controversial film the same distribution support typically given to other domestically-produced product when it debuts in Israel. "Paradise Now" was written by Abu-Assad, Bero Beyer and Pierre Hodgson, and produced by Bero Beyer of Augustus Film.

Founded in August, 2003, Warner Independent Pictures finances, produces, acquires and will distribute up to ten feature films per year mostly budgeted under $20 million. The company is a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company based on the studio lot in Burbank, CA. Upcoming WIP releases include John Maybury's "The Jacket." "Before Sunset," "We Don't Live Here Anymore," and "A Very Long Engagement" are among its recent releases.

Celluloid Dreams president Hengameh Panahi founded the company in 1993. The group is an independent international sales, production and distribution company based in Paris, with offices in Berlin and Toronto. Titles in its current line-up includes François Ozon's "5X2," Hans Weingartner's "The Edukators," Jacques Audiard's "The Beat My Heart Skipped," and Todd Solondz's "Palindromes."