The best new independent films in the United States were honoured with awards at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, signalling which non-mainstream movies could be on their way to becoming overground hits.

Real-life story American Splendor, which interweaves dramatic sequences, documentary video and animation, picked up the Grand Jury Prize for best drama.

The Station Agent won an audience award

The prize for best documentary went to Capturing the Friedmans, which follows an upper middle-class family as the father and son are arrested for sexual crimes.

The Sundance Film Festival showcases some of the most promising non-Hollywood fare, and often unearths some of the best independent gems.

The 10-day festival, founded by actor Robert Redford, ends on Sunday, the day after the award ceremony.

American Splendor stars Paul Giamatti as comic book creator Harvey Pekar - but also includes footage of the real Pekar and animated sequences.

"It just feels amazing that people are embracing a film that's hard to grasp," co-director Shari Springer said.

Sundance has attracted some big stars

It was about "the ordinary things in life", she said, and there was a lack of explosions or big action scenes.

American Splendor is based on Pekar's comic book series of the same name that chronicles his attempts to break out of his life as a hospital clerk and deal with his relationship with Joyce Brabner, played by Hope Davis.

Capturing the Friedmans, taking the Grand Jury Prize for best documentary, also mixes different types of footage, including the family's home videos from when the events took place in 1987.

"I've had people tell me that it's like a tragic version of The Osbournes," director Andrew Jarecki said.

The festival's audiences were asked to vote for their favourite films, with quirky The Station Agent coming top of the poll in the dramatic category.

Uncovering hits

My Flesh and Blood, which follows 11 special needs children and their carer, won the audience award for best documentary.

The World Cinema Audience Award went to New Zealand story Whale Rider, about a girl who struggles to take her place as the leader of a male-dominated tribal village.

Sundance, founded by Redford in 1981, has been central in uncovering low-key hits including Sex, Lies and Videotape and In the Bedroom.

Directors who have previously had films in competition at Sundance include Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, Richard Linklater and Todd Field.