Marc Turtletaub, US producer of the movie "Little Miss Sunshine"
© AFP Francois Guillot

DEAUVILLE, France (AFP) - The film, by Jonathan Dayton et Valerie Faris, was met with loud applause and raucous laughter when it was shown at the festival and won the Grand Prix on Sunday evening.

It tells the story of an average American family's road trip to California, where the seven-year-old daughter is due to compete in a "mini miss" pageant.

The jury prize was awarded to Ryan Fleck's "Half Nelson", which looks at the relationship between a brilliant teacher at a school in Brooklyn and a young female student.

The award for best screenplay and the international critics' prize went to "Sherrybaby", a film by Laurie Collyer about the struggle of a former drug addict to win back custody of his daughter.

The festival, held every September in the northern French seaside resort, celebrates the best new independent US cinema.

This year the jury was chaired by French actress and director Nicole Garcia and included the actors Antoine de Caunes, Amira Casar and Guillaume Canet, the singer Julien Clerc and the writer Philippe Djian.

Last year the top prize went to Paul Haggis's "Collision", which went on to win the 2006 best film Oscar.

©AFP