Abdellatif Kechiche's Cesar-winning The Secret Of The Grain won the first ever critics award at the 12th annual City Of Lights, City Of Angels (COLCOA) in Los Angeles over the weekend.

COLCOA, a week of French film premieres in Hollywood, ended on Sunday and also announced that Dany Boon's smash hit Welcome To The Sticks (Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis) was voted winner of the audience award, followed by Eric Guirado's The Grocer's Son and Sandrine Bonnaire's Her Name Is Sabine.

The jury, consisting of five LA-based critics and members of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), also gave a special citation to Bonnaire for 'her sensitive and touching portrait of her sister's struggle with autism' in Her Name Is Sabine.

Didier Canaux's The Second Life of a Sugar Bowl (La Seconde Vie Du Sucrier) won the 2008 COLCOA Short Film Award. The shorts jury gave special mentions to Patrick Bossard's The Human Race and Elizabeth Marre and Olive Pont's Manon On The Pavement.

Producers of award winners in both critics and audience categories will be offered complimentary English subtitling of his/her next feature, courtesy of Titra Film Paris.

The critics jury consisted of Wade Major (chair), Jean Oppenheimer, Claudia Puig, Scott Foundas and Screen's Mike Goodridge.

The shorts jury consisted of Randal Kleiser, Peter Lefcourt and Bonnie Voland.

COLCOA attracted an all time high audience of nearly 11,500 in its seven-day run. 48 films were screened - 28 features and 20 shorts. The festival also presented the world premiere of the restored version of Fritz Lang's Secret Beyond the Door, an English-language film whose restoration was co-funded by festival backer The Franco-American Cultural Fund.