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Michael Moore wins big at indie awards

Associated Press

Sean Penn and Michael Moore demonstrated their power in the independent film world, taking top honours at the 17th annual Gotham Awards.

Penn's Into the Wild, which he adapted from Jon Krakauer's best-seller about a doomed young idealist, won best feature.

Moore won the award for best documentary for Sicko, in which he takes the pulse of America's health-care system and finds it seriously ailing.

The awards were presented by the Independent Feature Project at the Steiner Studios in the New York City borough of Brooklyn on Tuesday. The event will air December 8 in the US on The Documentary Channel.

Roger Ebert, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Javier Bardem and Mira Nair were among those presented with honorary Gotham Awards for their contributions to independent film.

The best ensemble cast award went to two movies, Talk to Me and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.

Other winners included: breakthrough director, Craig Zobel for Great World of Sound; breakthrough actor, Ellen Page for Juno; and best film not playing at a theatre near you, Frownland, directed by Ronald Bronstein.