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The American indie film THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER has won the inauguaral American Indie Newcomer Prize at the Munich Film Festival for debut filmmaker David Robert Mitchell. The prize includes a 5000 Euro cash award endowed by the U.S. Consulate General. The Festival wrapped this past weekend.

The coming-of-age story about a few teenagers who sneak out of the house one night premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in March, where it received a special jury prize for Best Ensemble Cast. The film then made its international premiere in May at the Cannes Film Festival in the International Critics’ Week section.

In a statement released by the Munich Film Festival, the jury members (Moritz Peters, Koch Media; Frederik Kuhnt, arte Tracks; and director RP Kahl ) praised the film as "a loving look at its teenage protagonists and their night out without using the typical clichés – an American independent film that congenially captures the feeling of being both in love and lost." The new American Indie Newcomer Prize is meant to encourage young filmmakers at the start of their careers. To view the film's trailer, log on to: http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt1174042/trailers

Munich's CineVision Prize went to Italian drama THE FOUR TIMES from director Michaelangelo Frammartino, the story of an old shepherd spending his final days in a medieval village in Calabria. Bong Joon-Ho's crime thriller MOTHER, which first bowed in Cannes last year, won Munich's Arri-Zeiss Award. The coveted Audience Award was won by local German helmer Phillip Pamer for BERGBLUT (Mountain Blood), a period drama that retells the true story of the failed revolt against Napoleon's army. For more information on the Festival, visit: http://www.filmfest-muenchen.de/dc/FFM_EN

Sandy Mandelberger, Awards Watch Editor