Indie thriller wins at Deauville

Moncrieff, 43, began her career as a television actress

Indie thriller The Dead Girl has won grand prize at the Deauville American Film Festival in Normandy, France.

The film, written and directed by Karen Moncrieff and starring Toni Collette, beat 10 other independent features to the annual event's top award.

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were just some of the big names to attend this year.

Premieres included Farrelly brothers' comedy The Heartbreak Kid and Affleck's directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone.

"The fact that you, with your culture and your film culture, are here honouring American movies is really astounding to me," said Moncrieff as she accepted her award.

Her film, which involves a group of complete strangers tied together by the discovery of a murdered girl, also stars Piper Laurie and Mary Steenburgen.

Other prizes went to Grace is Gone, a drama about a father unable to tell his daughters their mother has died in Iraq, and low-budget comedy Rocket Science.

Actor Michael Douglas and director Sidney Lumet were among the US film-makers honoured at the event.