Macia was in Venice with her partner Juliette Lepoutre for the world premier of Romanian director Adrian Sitaru's film Hooked (Pescuit Sportiv) which screened in the Venice Days section of the festival this week.

Hooked is the first feature for Paris based MPM who got onboard the production after the 36 year old Bucharest based director sent Macia a DVD of the film from Sitaru's 4Proof Film which produced the film and ARTE.

"We immediately saw this was a very talented director but that the film needed help to take it to another level," said Macia. "The film had been shot in mini DV and we blew it up into 35mm in post production. We also knew that the film needed to have a premier in a showcase like Venice Days if it was to attract the international attention it deserves."

International sales outfit Rezo Film have world rights for the film outside Romania and after Venice the film will go to Toronto and Pusan FF. Hooked will be released in Romania in October.

Macia can justly be called the discoverer of the Romanian "New Wave" of the fast few years as she was one of the first to start to screen Romanian films during her four years as head of the Directors' Fortnight section of Cannes FF.

She launched MPM to handle difficult and artistic projects that she believes in. While not specifically orientated towards Central European film MPM is already working on its next co-production, Turin Horse, a new feature by one of Hungary's top art film masters, Bela Tarr. The film is a Hungarian, Swiss, French co-production which starts to shoot in November of this year.

Sitaru cut his teeth like most young directors in central Europe by working in television and making commercials and music videos. He said he considered it a very fortunate chance that he had met up with Macia whose input on Hooked was vital for the film's success. He is already at work on his next project, For Love With Best Intentions with the same partners.