Walken: Won a best supporting actor for the Deer Hunter

The film tells the story of an East German drag queen who forms a band to tour the US.

John Cameron Mitchell directed and also stars in the film, which is based on a highly successful off-Broadway musical.

Ten films were in competition for the critics' prize, which is open only to independent films and often throws up new names.

The festival's jury prize went to Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World which stars Steve Buscemi and Thora Birch.

Ghost World is an adaptation of a cult cartoon strip by Daniel Clowes and takes a look at teenage angst.

The movie stars American Beauty actress Thora Birch who won a best actress award for her performance as Enid, the heroine of the middle America satire.

Ghost World director Zwigoff also made Crumb in 1994

French director Jean-Jacques Annaud, who made Enemy at the Gate and Seven Years in Tibet, presided over the awards ceremony.

Other films that raised interest but did not take any prizes were The Doe Boy by Randy Redroad, which tells the story of an American Indian boy with an identity crisis and The Deep End by Scott McGehee and David Siegel.

Deauville, in northern France, is a festival known as the place to launch US productions in Europe.

Mitchell: Developed Hedwig in the mid 1990s

Many of the films screening were being shown for the first time outside the US.

Stars in attendance included 13-year-old Haley Joel Osment, promoting Steven Spielberg's AI.

Johnny Depp, who lives in France, was there to support his latest film Blow.

Julianne Moore was on hand for the world premi�re of World Traveller, directed by Bart Freundlich.

Actor Christopher Walken was in Deauville to accept a special award for his career in films from The Deer Hunter to A View to a Kill to Wayne's World 2.

Michael Cimino, who directed The Deer Hunter and Heaven's Gate, was awarded a literature prize for his first novel Big Jane.