MUMBAI: The new film from director Jean-Pierre Jeunet A Very Long Engagement and Delicatessen, will hit more screens thanks to Lottery funding from the UK Film Council.

E1 Entertainment received £100,000 to widen the distribution of Jeunet’s caper comedy MICMACS, funding publicity and advertising, and the purchase of an additional ten prints and 20 digital deliveries, resulting in the film being released in 85 cinemas.

A gentle video shop assistant ends up with a bullet permanently lodged inside his brain after a gangland shootout. Emerging from hospital without a job or a home, he is taken in by a band of colorful misfits living in a Paris junkyard, and sets about a madcap revenge mission to bring down those he holds responsible for his misfortunes. Starring Dany Boon, André Dussollier and Nicolas Marié, with breathtakingly inventive visual storytelling and wordplay, MICMACS is in cinemas from 26 February.

Action thriller Shank, the debut feature film from British urban music video director Mo Ali, will also reach more audiences thanks to UK Film Council funding. Revolver Films received £100,000 to double the film’s March release from 40 to 80 sites. Featuring popular grime artist Bashy, Adam Deacon and Kaya Scodelario, Shank is slated to release on 26 March.