Two world premieres bookendthis year's ninth annual Slamdance Film Festival, which opens on Jan 18with Ken Bowser's documentary Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, based on Peter Biskind's provocative accountof film-making in the 1960s and 70s, and closes on Jan 24 with AllanMindel's Milwaukee, Minnesota.

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls chronicles one of the most tumultuous periods inmodern cinema and includes interviews with Peter Fonda, Peter Bogdanovich andDennis Hopper. Writer-director Bowser's previous credits include FrankCapra's The American Dream andthe picture is narrated by William H Macy. Milwaukee, Minnesota centres on a young fisherman perceived to bementally disabled who finds himself the target of two separate con artists outto steal his money. Writer-director Mindel was the co-founder of Click Modelsin New York in 1980 before moving into film production at New Line, where hiscredits included My Own Private Idaho and Pie In The Sky. Milwaukee,Minnesota is his directorial debutand stars Troy Garity, Bruce Dern, Allison Folland and Randy Quaid. Thescreening will be followed by the Slamdance Sparky Awards Presentation and aclosing night celebration.

Slamdance organisers havealso unveiled the programme for the third $99 Specials Line Up, which featuresfilms made by Slamdance alumni for $99 in 99 days that are five minutes or lessand must be shot on digital video. The festival provides equipment and $99 andthe films will play online at www.slamdance.com and be projected in the galleryon Jan 22. This year's fourth installment in the Dirty Dozen DVD seriesis Twelve Angry Women, the firstSlamdance DVD to feature all-female film-makers. The DVD will be available atthe festival, which returns to the Treasure Mountain Inn in Park City, Utah.