Paramount Vantage has snapped up the Canadian film How She Move, a gritty drama about the step-dancing scene in Toronto's struggling Jane-Finch community, just hours after the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. 

The art house division of Paramount Pictures bought the film for $3.4 million US Monday night after a bidding war with several other distributors.

How She Move was written by the Jamaican-born Annmarie Morais of Brantford, Ont., and directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid, a Tanzanian-born filmmaker who grew up in Toronto.

The film tells the story of a 17-year-old girl who turns to step-dancing to earn her way back into a prestigious private school.

It stars American actress Rutina Wesley, Toronto's Dwain Murphy and B.C. native Brennan Gademans.

Choreography is by New York's famed Hi Hat. Several Canadian artists are featured on the soundtrack.

"Sundance is exactly the opportunity that this little film needs to find its way in the world," Rashid told the IndieWire website prior to the festival.

Another step film, Stomp the Yard, is currently on top at the box office.