Telepool has secured world rights, excluding German speaking territories, to Downfall director Oliver Hirschbiegel's new project Angel Face (working title).

The adaptation of the best-selling book by Spiegel magazine author Andreas Ulrich unites Hirschbiegel with Moritz Bleibtreu, the lead actor in his 2001 psychodrama The Experiment. Principal photography on the German-Italian thriller by Munich-based Fanes Film will begin from early 2009 at locations in Germany's Ruhr region, Calabria and Florence.

In his best seller, known as Das Engelsgesicht in German, Andreas Ulrich tells the true story of the German mafia hitman, Giorgio Basile, who was called 'The Angel Face' in mafia circles and was for many years a feared contract killer for the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate. After his arrest in 1998, Basile became a state witness against the Italian mafia.

Commenting on picking up this project, Irina Ignatiew, Executive Vice President International of Telepool, said that 'Oliver Hirschbiegel and Moritz Bleibtreu are synonymous with high quality cinema. The book on which the film is based offers so much rich material for exciting entertainment that the film is bound to enthuse audiences around the world.'

Angel Face will be the first German film to be released by Walt Disney under the Miramax label in Germany and is currently scheduled to open in early 2010.