Tragedy scores big at Sundance Festival

PARK CITY, Utah, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- This year's Sundance Film Festival in Utah uncharacteristically focused its annual awards on movies dealing with tragedy and the plight of others.

While the annual film festival is typically known for celebrity excess, tragic topics such as abject poverty and natural disasters were the themes of the movies that received most of the awards, The Salt Lake Tribune said Sunday.

Among the films recognized during Saturday's awards show in Park City, Utah, was "Frozen River," which was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. dramatic films. It focuses on a New York woman desperately attempting to feed her kids.

Meanwhile, the winner of this year's Grand Jury Prize for U.S. documentaries was the film "Trouble the Water," which included real-life footage of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it brought on New Orleans.

The Tribune said director Lance Hammer was recognized for his work on the film "Ballast," which focused on poverty in a Mississippi Delta town and also helped earn Lol Crowley a Sundance award for cinematography.