La Misma Luna Sundance Hot Title

At Zoom Monday night at indie lawyer John Sloss's Cinetic party, a number of deep-pocket buyers, from Sony Pictures Classics to Lionsgate, were circling likely the biggest sale of Sundance so far, the Mexican film "La Misma Luna," which apparently sold worldwide rights last night Tuesday morning for a number well north of the festival ceiling so far, $4 million, between $5 and 6 million, sources said.

We're on Oscar Watch this morning, but word is--as yet unconfirmed--we have received confirmation that the moving border-crossing movie about a boy searching for his mother, which is two-thirds Spanish and one-third English, sold to Fox Searchlight, possibly partnering with the Weinstein Co.. Searchlight chief Peter Rice and Harvey Weinstein also partnered on Zach Braff's Sundance pick-up Garden State.

"La Misma Luna" producer is Ram Bergman, who had another Sundance hit with Rian Johnson's Brick two years ago. He was a happy man at the Cinetic party, promising a long night of negotiations. The movie, which was described as both a tear-jerker and a crowd-pleaser, had a Monday screening at a tiny Holiday Cinema room that was packed with buyers. "No real people got into that movie," said one express-pass holder. (They cost about $3000.) "La Misma Luna" has the potential to reach a wide crossover audience not only in America but around the world, folks who saw the movie said.