Laurent Cantet'sThe Class, Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah and Valeria Gaia Germanica's Everybody Dies But Me were among the prizewinners at this year's Munich Filmfest which closed with the world premiere of Thomas Schamoni's documentary Botero.

Cantet's Palme d'Or winner - the Filmfest's opening film on June 20 - received the One Future Award.

Garrone's Cannes Jury prizewinning drama, set in the world of organised crime in Naples, took home the Arri Zeiss Award which been presented for the first time this year.

Meanwhile, the CineVision Award for best non-German first or second film, presented now for the second year, went to Russian director Germanica's coming-of-age story which won a special mention in the Cannes Camera d'Or.

The festival's nine days also provided the platform for numerous institutions to present awards acknowledging achievements in the local German film and television industry.

This year's Young German Support Award by Bavaria Film, HypoVereinsbank and Bayerischer Rundfunk was given in four categories for:

  • Best direction: Timo Mueller, Morscholz
  • Best screenplay: Heiko Martens, Narrenspiel)
  • Best actress: Susanne Wolff, The Stranger In Me and Die Gluecklichen
  • Best actor: Markus Tomczyk, Braams

The Bernhard Wicki Film Prize was awarded to Marie Noelle and Peter Sehr's The Anarchist's Wife, a story of an undying love against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and Second World War, which is being handled internationally by Bavaria Film International and is released next year in Germany by Zorro Film.

In addition, the jury of the VFF TV Movie Award named Jo Baier's Liesl Karlstadt Und Karl Valentin the best television film, and Anna Justice's Max Minsky Und Ich picked up the Munich Media Club's White Elephant Prize.

Meanwhile, the audiences of this year's Kinderfilmfest voted for Mischa Kamp's Where Is Winky's Horse' for their Audience Award, and the Bayern 3 Audience Award went to Croatian film-maker Dejan Acimovic's I Have To Sleep, My Angel (Moram Spavat', Andjele) which had its world premiere at the Filmfest.

Around 200 national and international filmmakers and actors were guests of the Filmfest including Julie Christie (who received the CineMerit Award for her services to cinema), Julia Ormond, Abel Ferrara, Jennifer Lynch, Jaycee Chan, Laurent Cantet, Alexandra Maria Lara, Nina Hoss and Bruno Ganz.

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