diff --git a/oxdata/poster/models.py b/oxdata/poster/models.py
index 39970e3..c78b6bf 100644
--- a/oxdata/poster/models.py
+++ b/oxdata/poster/models.py
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ def getPosters(movie_id, url_prefix='', limit=lambda x, y: 0.3 < x/y < 1):
     return posters
 
 def poster_path(url, filename):
+    if isinstance(url, unicode):
+        url = url.encode('utf-8')
     h = hashlib.sha1(url).hexdigest()
     ext = 'jpg'
     if filename.endswith('.png'):