German casting agent Rita Serra-Roll (Manitu's Shoe) and UK casting agency Hubbard Casting (Chocolat, The Lord Of The Rings) are the winners of this year's National and International Casting Awards which have been sponsored by the private media fund Erste MedienDachFonds.

The two casting awards will be presented at a gala ceremony organised by Munich-based Actors and Arts Group of Companies on (Monday) July 1 at the Munich Filmfest along with its 'Rising Movie Talent Award' which honours a young actress and actor who are on the threshold of a great career.

Meanwhile, nominations for the expanded Young German Cinema Award (Foerderpreis Deutscher Film) have been announced in the categories of directing (Euros 40,000), acting (Euros 20,000) and screenplay (Euros 20,000) to promote new talents in German film.

The line-up of nominations are:

Young Director
Detlef Bothe - Feiertag
Iain Dilthey - Das Verlangen
Alain Gsponer - Kiki & Tiger
Michael Hofmann - Sophiiie
Chris Kraus - Scherbentanz
Torsten Loehn - Paule Und Julia
Isabelle Stever - Erste Ehe
Philipp Stoelzl - Baby
Anne Wild - Mein Erstes Wunder

Acting
Marlon Kittel (Paule Und Julia)
Kathrin Kuehnel (Die Novizin)
Jessica Schwarz (Die Freunde Der Freunde)
Harald Schrott (Die Rueckkehr)
Maria Simon (Erste Ehe)
Axel Sichrovsky (Ich Hab Es Nicht Gewollt)

Screenplay
Michael Hofmann (Sophiiie)
Frauke Hunfeld (Der Tod Ist Kein Beweis)
Chris Kraus (Scherbentanz)
Sylvia Leuker (Harte Broetchen)
Joerg von Schlebruegge (Der Anwalt Und Sein Gast).