Actors Josh Radnor and Mark Ruffalo win at Sundance

• Two actors making their directing debut were among the big winners as this years Sundance Film Festival. The audience award for favourite US drama went to happythankyoumoreplease, the debut from Josh Radnor, star of US sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

  Mark Ruffalo, star of Windtalkers and 13 Going on 30, won a special jury prize for Sympathy for Delicious.

  Gritty drama Winters Bone won the grand jury prize, which was won last year by Precious.

  Set against the harsh landscape of Missouri, Debra Graniks film follows the quest of a teenager to find out what happened to her father, who was possibly caught up in criminal gangs.

  "Life is really diverse on this continent that we happen to inhabit," said Granik.

  "I think theres something to understand that in any county, theres a story that is somewhat universal, but that its also worthy just to note the differences and appreciate the differences among the counties that make up the 50 states that make up, then, the larger picture. "

  The documentary prize went to Restrepo, a film following a platoon in Afghanistan.

  It was directed by Sebastian Junger, author of The Perfect Storm, a novel which retold the story of a ship caught in a violent storm that struck New England in 1991.

  The fans choice for best documentary was Waiting for Superman, from An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim, which looks at the public school system in America.

  The jury prize for world cinema went to Australian director David Michod for Animal Kingdom, starring Guy Pearce, the star of 2000 film Memento.

  Last years big winner was Precious, which has gone on to win awards at numerous ceremonies this year, and is in the running for an Oscar nomination.

  Source: BBC