Festival top brass announced on December 9 the Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections.

Gareth Evans returns with The Raid 2, Anton Corbijn makes his first appearance at Sundance with the John Le Carré adaptation A Most Wanted Man, while Michael Winterbottom brings his comedy sequel The Trip To Italy starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (pictured).

The line-up includes I Origins, Mike Cahill’s follow-up to Sundance 2011 prize winner Another Earth, as well as new work from Park City perennials Lynn Shelton with Laggies and Ira Sachs with Love Is Strange.

Marjane Satrapi will attend Park City with The Voices and William H Macy showcases his feature directorial debut Rudderless, the festival’s closing night film.

Documentary Premieres include the indefatigable Alex Gibney’s Finding Fela, Happy Valley from Amir Bar-Lev, the Roger Ebert portrait Life Itself from Steve James, the George Takei film To Be Takei and Joe Berlinger’s hot-off-the-press WHITEY: United States Of America v. James J. Bulger.

“The Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival feature new work from many established independent film-makers who began their careers at our festival years ago, which allows us to reflect on the impact, legacy and growth of the independent film movement over the past 30 years,” said Sundance Film Festival director John Cooper.

“In many of the films selected for our 2014 Sundance Film Festival, we see fascinating characters and subjects throughout,” said director of programming Trevor Groth. “Whether portrayed by recognised actors taking on more challenging and diverse roles, or in the stranger-than-fiction reality of our documentaries, we look forward to sharing these incredible stories with audiences at our festival.”

The Sundance Film Festival is scheduled to run from January 16-26 2014 in Utah. The short film selection will be announced on December 10.

All synopses provided by the festival.

PREMIERES

A showcase of world premieres of some of the most highly anticipated dramatic films of the coming year.

Calvary (Ireland-UK)
Director: John Michael McDonagh
Calvary is a darkly comedic drama about a priest tormented by his community. Father James is a good man intent on making the world a better place. When his life is threatened one day during confession, he finds he has to battle the dark forces closing in around him.
Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen, Dylan Moran, Marie-Josée Croz.

Frank (Ireland-UK)
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
Frank is an offbeat comedy about a wannabe musician who finds himself out of his depth when he joins an avant-garde rock band led by the enigmatic Frank – a musical genius who hides himself inside a large fake head.
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scoot McNairy.

Hits (US)
Director: David Cross
A small town in upstate New York is populated by people who wallow in unrealistic expectations. There, fame, delusion, earnestness, and recklessness meet, shake hands, and disrupt the lives around them.
Cast: Meredith Hagner, Matt Walsh, James Adomian, Derek Waters, Wyatt Cenac.

I Origins (US)
Director: Mike Cahill
A molecular biologist and his lab partner uncover startling evidence that could fundamentally change society as we know it and cause them to question their once-certain beliefs in science and spirituality.
Cast: Michael Pitt, Brit Marling, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Steven Yeun, Archie Panjabi.

Laggies (US)
Director: Lynn Shelton
Laggies is a coming-of-age story about a 28-year-old woman stuck in permanent adolescence. Unable to find her career calling, still hanging out with the same friends, and living with her high school boyfriend, Megan must finally navigate her own future when an unexpected marriage proposal sends her into a panic.
Cast: Keira Knightley, Sam Rockwell, Chloë Grace Moretz, Ellie Kemper, Jeff Garlin, Mark Webber.

Little Accidents (US)
Director: Sara Colangelo
In a small American coal town living in the shadow of a recent mining accident, the disappearance of a teenage boy draws three people together – a surviving miner, the lonely wife of a mine executive, and a local boy – in a web of secrets.
Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Boyd Holbrook, Chloë Sevigny, Jacob Lofland, Josh Lucas.

Love Is Strange (US)
Director: Ira Sachs
After 39 years together, Ben and George finally tie the knot, but George loses his job as a result, and the newlyweds must sell their New York apartment and live apart, relying on friends and family to make ends meet.
Cast: John Lithgow, Alfred Molina, Darren Burrows, Charlie Tahan, Cheyenne Jackson.

A Most Wanted Man (Germany-US)
Director: Anton Corbijn
Based on John le Carré’s bestselling book, Anton Corbijn directs this modern-day thriller with Academy Award–winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams and Robin Wright headlining an ensemble cast.
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright.

Nick Offerman: American Ham (US)
Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
WARNING: MINOR NUDITY AND NOT SUITABLE FOR VEGETARIANS.
This live taping of Nick Offerman’s hilarious one-man show at New York’s historic Town Hall theater features a collection of anecdotes, songs, and woodworking/oral sex techniques. The routine includes Offerman’s 10 tips for living a more prosperous life, so hearken well.
Cast: Nick Offerman.

The Raid 2 (Indonesia)
Director: Gareth Evans
Picking up where the first film left off, The Raid 2 follows Rama as he goes undercover and infiltrates the ranks of a ruthless Jakarta crime syndicate in order to protect his family and expose the corruption in his own police force.
Cast: Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Arifin Putra, Oka Antara, Tio Pakusadewo, Alex Abbad.

Rudderless (US)
Director: William H Macy
When a grieving father in a downward spiral stumbles upon a box of his deceased son’s original music, he forms a rock ‘n’ roll band, which changes his life.
Cast: Billy Crudup, Anton Yelchin, Felicity Huffman, Selena Gomez, Laurence Fishburne, William H. Macy.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM

They Came Together (US)
Director: David Wain
This subversion/spoof/deconstruction of the romantic comedy genre has a vaguely, but not overtly, Jewish leading man, a klutzy, but adorable, leading lady, and New York City itself as another character in the story.
Cast: Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Ed Helms, Cobie Smulders, Max Greenfield, Christopher Meloni.

The Trip To Italy (UK)
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom reunites Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon for more delectable food, some sharp-elbowed rivalry, and plenty of laughs.
Cast: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon.

The Voices (US-Germany)
Director: Marjane Satrapi
This genre-bending tale centers around Jerry Hickfang, a lovable but disturbed factory worker who yearns for attention from a woman in accounting. When their relationship takes a sudden, murderous turn, Jerry’s evil talking cat and benevolent talking dog lead him down a fantastical path where he ultimately finds salvation.
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arterton, Anna Kendrick, Jacki Weaver.

White Bird In A Blizzard (US)
Director: Gregg Araki
Based on the acclaimed novel by Laura Kasischke, White Bird In A Blizzard tells the story of Kat Connors, a young woman whose life is turned upside down by the sudden disappearance of her beautiful, enigmatic mother.
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Eva Green, Christopher Meloni, Shiloh Fernandez, Gabourey Sidibe, Thomas Jane.

Young Ones (US)
Director: Jake Paltrow
When a series of events is set into motion, altering his young life forever, Jerome is forced to make choices that no child should ever have to make.
Cast: Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Elle Fanning, Kodi Smit-McPhee.

DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES

Renowned filmmakers and films about far-reaching subjects comprise this section highlighting our ongoing commitment to documentaries. Each film is a world premiere.

The Battered Bastards Of Baseball (US)
Directors: Chapman Way, Maclain Way
Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country – alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.

Finding Fela (US)
Director: Alex Gibney
Fela Anikulapo Kuti created the musical movement Afrobeat and used it as a political forum to oppose the Nigerian dictatorship and advocate for the rights of oppressed people. This is the story of his life, music, and political importance.

Freedom Summer (US)
Director: Stanley Nelson
In the summer of 1964, more than 700 students descended on violent, segregated Mississippi. Defying authorities, they registered voters, created freedom schools, and established the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Fifty years later, eyewitness accounts and never-before-seen archival material tell their story. Not all of them would make it through.

Happy Valley (US)
Director: Amir Bar-Lev
The children oh Happy Valley were victimised for years by a key member of the legendary Penn State college football programme. But were Jerry Sandusky’s crimes an open secret? With rare access, director Amir Bar-Lev delves beneath the headlines to tell a modern American parable of guilt, redemption and identity.

Last Days in Vietnam (US)
Director: Rory Kennedy
During the chaotic final weeks of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon as the panicked South Vietnamese people desperately attempt to escape. On the ground, American soldiers and diplomats confront a moral quandary: whether to obey White House orders to evacuate only US citizens.

Life Itself (US)
Director: Steve James
Life Itself recounts the surprising and entertaining life of renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert. The film details his early days as a freewheeling bachelor and Pulitzer Prize winner, his famously contentious partnership with Gene Siskel, his life-altering marriage, and his brave and transcendent battle with cancer.

Mitt (US)
Director: Greg Whiteley
A filmmaker is granted unprecedented access to a political candidate and his family as he runs for President.

This May Be The Last Time (US)
Director: Sterlin Harjo
Filmmaker Sterlin Harjo’s Grandfather disappeared mysteriously in 1962. The community searching for him sang songs of encouragement that were passed down for generations. Harjo explores the origins of these songs as well as the violent history of his people.

To Be Takei (US)
Director: Jennifer Kroot
Over seven decades, actor and activist George Takei journeyed from a World War II internment camp to the helm of the Starship Enterprise, and then to the daily news feeds of five million Facebook fans. Join George and his husband, Brad, on a wacky and profound trek for life, liberty, and love.

We Are The Giant (US-UK)
Director: Greg Barker
Revolution tells the stories of ordinary individuals who are transformed by the moral and personal challenges they encounter when standing up for what they believe is right. Powerful and tragic, yet inspirational, their struggles for freedom echo across history and offer hope against seemingly impossible odds.

WHITEY: United States Of America v. James J. Bulger (US)
Director: Joe Berlinger
Infamous gangster James “Whitey” Bulger’s relationship with the FBI and Department Of Justice allowed him to reign over a criminal empire in Boston for decades. Joe Berlinger’s documentary chronicles Bulger’s recent sensational trial, using it as a springboard to explore allegations of corruption within the highest levels of law enforcement.