New films by Sundance winner Oliver Hirschbiegel, Ute Wieland and Chris Kraus are among the projects receiving funding totalling $5m (Euros 3.9m) from the Bavarian regional fund FFF Bayern.

The largest single award, $1.2m (Euros 950,000), went to Hirschbiegel's adaptation of Andreas Ulrich's bestselling book Angel Face. The film tells the true story of the German mafia hit man, Giorgio Basile, who was known as 'the angel face' in mafia circles and was for many years a feared contract killer for the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate.

The German-Italian thriller by Munich-based Fanes Film is being handled internationally by Telepool and will be the first German film to be released by Walt Disney under the Miramax label. It will star Moritz Bleibtreu as Basile.

$1.1m (Euros 850,000) went to Cheeky Girls 2 (Freche Mädchen 2), the sequel to Ute Wieland's 2008 teenage comedy box-office success based on the books by Bianka Minte-König. Cheeky Girls 2 is being produced by Uli Limmer's Collina Film with Constantin Film Produktion.

Meanwhile $953,000 (Euros 750,000) was allocated to Bavaria Pictures' German-New Zealand co-production Superhero. Adapted from the bestseller of the same name, it will be directed by Anthony McCarten with Freddy Highmore and Jessica Schwarz in the leads.

In addition, the Munich-based fund backed Chris Kraus's third feature film Poll which will be shot at locations in Estonia this summer.

Structured as a co-production between Kordes & Kordes Film, Austria's DOR Film and Tallinn-based Amrion, Poll is a historical drama set on the eve of the First World War.

It was developed at the eQuinoxe Germany screenwriting workshop and will be released theatrically in Germany by Piffl Medien. Bavaria Media is handling international sales on the project with Edgar Selge, Jeanette Hain and Richy Müller attached as cast.

Other projects supported under this funding session included Ralf Westhoff's comedy Der Letzte Schöne Herbsttag; Schesch Filmkreation's adaptation of Tomi Ungerer's The Man In The Moon (Der Mondmann); and Marc Rothemund's adventure film The Star Of India (Der Stern Von Indien).

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