MUMBAI: PVR Pictures has acquired the India distribution rights to a handful of English films at the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival.

Some of the movies acquired include Pedro Almodóvar’s Broken Embraces, Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock, Alejandro Amenábar’s Agora, Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon’s The Greatest, Heath Ledger and Johnny Depp’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. These movies will be released in India this year.

Some of the other releases are Mel Gibson’s Edge of Darkness, Jennifer Aniston’s Traveling and the animated movie 9 featuring the voices of Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connelly.

PVR Pictures CEO Uday Singh says, "We are delighted to be distributing some of the renowned movies showcased at Cannes Film Festival 2009 in India this year. With movies like Pedro Almodóvar’s Broken Embraces starring Penelope Cruz and Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock based on the Woodstock Festival of 1969 having received impressive reviews this year, we would like to get an exciting array of international movies for our Indian audiences."

Commenting on the association with PVR Pictures for the exclusive distribution rights of Broken Embraces and Taking Woodstock, Focus Features CEO James Schamus says, "We are proud of the strong association with PVR Pictures that we have built over the years to help us reach out to our audiences in India. Their extensive distribution network and keen eye to discover the demand patterns for wider choice of movies amongst the Indian audiences has been their strength. We look forward to nurturing this relationship in the years to come."