Colombian hostage pic finds Euro takers

Luc Besson's EuropaCorp has acquired French privileges to Miguel Courtois' political thriller "Operation E." Distrib DeAPlaneta has had The country. "Operation" stories the 2008 liberation of hostages Clara Rojas, her boy Emmanuel and Consuelo Gonzalez through the Revolutionary Military of Colombia. Spain's Luis Tosar ("The Rain") plays Jose Crisanto, a Colombian peasant who risks his existence to obtain Emmanuel to hospital. Colombian actress Martina Garcia ("Biutiful") co-stars. Now in publish, "Operation" is Paris-born helmer Courtois' third The spanish language feature, following on real-occasions-inspired thrillers "El Lobo" and "Woman." Tosar's Zircozine produces alongside Cristina Zumarraga's Tormenta Films and France's Ajoz Films. Ajoz founder Ariel Zeitoun, whose film credits include EuropaCorp game titles "Bandidas" and "Colombiana," spun the thought of "Operation E" to Courtois after reading through articles inside a French newspaper. Courtois' regular scribe Antonio Onetti composed the script. The spanish language pubcaster TVE and Gallic paybox Canal Plus will also be backing the film. At Berlin, DeAPlaneta's worldwide sales arm, DeAPlaneta Intl., is showing purchasers having a promo of "Operation E." Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com