Oranges and Sunshine, another Australia-UK co-production from The Kings Speech producers, has been picked up for US distribution.

A story about the UK's forced deportation of children to the other side of the world and a social worker who exposed the scandal, Oranges was licensed by Icon International to the Cohen Media Group.

The film is a UK/Australian co-production directed by Jim Loach and stars Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham. It was produced by Camilla Bray, Iain Canning and Emile Sherman through Australian-UK production company See-Saw Films, the UK's Sixteen Films and Australia's Spectrum Films . It was shot in Nottingham, UK and South Australia with principal photography completed on 31 Jan last year.

Oranges was financed by Screen Australia and Little Gaddesden Productions, in association with Fulcrum Media Finance, EM Media, South Australian Film Corporation, Deluxe, Screen NSW and BBC Films.

The film had its premiere at the Pusan festival in October. Icon Films released it in the UK last week (1 April 2011) and sister company Icon Films Distribution will handle the Australia release. Earlier sales saw the film acquired by Diaphana for France, Lusomundo for Portugal and Odeon for Greece.

New York-based Cohen Media previously released two French-language titles, Rachid Bouchareb's Outside The Law (Hors La Loi) and My Afternoons With Margueritte (La Tete En Friche).

In February last year and November 2009 the prime ministers of the UK and Australia respectively made public apologies for the forced separation of children from their families and the degrading treatment they received in Australian care.