Protestors clashed with Chicago police and the National Guard

Sixty-four films are competing at the world's leading independent festival which begins on 18 January in Utah.

Movies in competition include Grace is Gone starring John Cusack as a man whose wife is killed in Iraq.

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib about the abuses that occurred in an Iraqi prison in 2003 is one of several films based on war in the documentary category.

War demonstrations

No End In Sight, an examination of the Bush administration's conduct regarding Iraq and its occupation, is also showing in the documentary competition.

A film chronicling violent protests against the Vietnam war will open the festival.

Chicago 10 recounts the demonstrations surrounding 1968's Democratic National Convention, which saw protestors clash with the National Guard.

But the event also features many films with a more uplifting feel.

The Good Life, from writer and director Steve Berra, tells of a young man running an old film theatre in a small town.

Padre Nuestro is about a young man who meets up with a group of illegal immigrants heading from Mexico to New York after he chooses to flee his criminal past.

Robert Redford founded the Sundance festival

"This year's American competition reflects a new-found awareness... a collective voice fuelled by a steadfast optimism and hope for the future," said Sundance director Geoffrey Gilmore.

British director Nick Broomfield, best known for his documentaries, enters a film in the features category - his movie Ghost is based on a true story about an illegal Chinese immigrant who struggles to make a better life in the UK.

Fellow UK director Donal McIntyre's documentary is about Dominic Noonan, head of one of Britain's biggest crime families.

Kate Beckinsale stars in a drama called Snow Angel that interweaves the life of a teenager with his former babysitter, her estranged husband and their daughter.

The Sundance festival was founded by Robert Redford in 1981.

It has a reputation for helping smaller, independent films break into the mainstream, and has showcased hits such as Maria Full of Grace, Napoleon Dynamite and Super Size Me.