Twelve world andtwo US premieres are among the biggest ever line-up of 18 features at theupcoming 10th annual Slamdance Film Festival, which runs in Park City, Utahfrom Jan 17-24 2004.

The rosterincludes 11 narrative features and seven documentaries, which for the firsttime will be judged by two separate sections of the Slamdance jury. 21 shortswill also screen in competition.

Narrative worldpremieres include Nightingale In A Music Box, Hurt McDermott's sci-fi drama aboutmemory control, Memron,Nancy Hower's comic swipe at corporate fraud, and Vladimir Vitkin's X, Y, about a woman who wakes up as a man.

Documentaryofferings include Kelly Duda's Factor 8: The Arkansas Prison Blood Scandal, about the global sale of AIDS-infectedblood, and Travis Klose's Arakimentari, which chronicles the life's work of Japanese photographerNobuyoshi Araki.

"We've continuedto see a dramatic increase in the number of films made through the variousdigital formats," Slamdance director of programming Nubia Flores said in astatement. "The novelty of shooting with inexpensive digital video has worn offand we're seeing film-makers focus more on story and character development."

The festivalreturns to its Treasure Mountain Inn headquarters in Park City and featuresexpanded screening facilities, with the popular Brewvies screenings nowsupported by the new Madstone Theatre site in Salt Lake City.

SpecialScreenings, films screening out of competition and festival events will beannounced at a later date.

FEATURE FILMSSCREENING IN COMPETITION:

Dear Pillow (US, Dir: Bryan Poyser)
A 17-year-oldsupermarket bag boy finds a mentor in a porn magazine writer and becomesembroiled in some highly adult situations.

Goldfish Game (Belgium, Dir: Jan Lauwers)
Modern-day fable about anextended family forced to confront dark secrets and past decisions when membersgather at a castle in the French Ardennes.

GraveyardAlive - A Zombie Nurse In Love (Canada, Dir: Elza Kephart)
Feminist horrorB-movie about a lonely nurse who turns into a sex kitten after she is bitten bya zombie.

Homework (US, Dir: Kevin Asher Green)
A 16-year-old ballet dancerexplores her sexual and emotional world in unexpected ways.

IPO (US, Dir: Daniel Gamburg)
The dreams anddilemmas of 12 characters play out against the backdrop of San Francisco'sMission district as the dot com market bubble begins to deflate.

Madness AndGenius (US, Dir: RyanEslinger)
A collegestudent steals old research from his once brilliant, reclusive professor,turning the professor's life upside-down. With Tom Noonan.

Memron (US, Dir: Nancy Hower)
An improvised comic rompthrough the ruins of corporate fraud.

NightingaleIn A Music Box (US, Dir:Hurt McDermott)
Two womenconfront a sinister future technology that controls memories in this sci-fidrama.

Shelter (US, Dir: Benno Schoberth)
Three destitute teens breakinto a secluded beach house and create a makeshift family, but jealousies eruptand put their friendships to the test.

Take Out (US, Dirs: Shih-Ching Tsou, Sean Baker)
An illegalChinese immigrant involved in a smuggling ring is given one day to come up witha debt repayment.

X, Y (US, Dir: Vladimir Vitkin)
New York-settale about a woman who wakes up without an identity but knows she is a man.Based on Michael Blumlein's cult novel.

FEATUREDOCUMENTARIES SCREENING IN COMPETITION:

Arakimentari (US, Dir: Travis Klose)
The life andwork of Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki and his impact on Japanese cultureand the depiction of women.

Bruce Haack:The King Of Techno (US,Dir: Philip Anagnos)
The underground world ofhomespun musician Bruce Haack told through story, music and imaginative visuals.

Big City Dick: RichardPeterson's First Movie (US, Dirs:Scott Milam, Ken Harder, Todd Pottinger)
Portrait of asavant street musician and his lifelong struggle to become a successfulrecording artist. His celebrity obsessions include Johnny Mathis and The StoneTemple Pilots.

Factor 8: TheArkansas Prison Blood Scandal (US, Dir: Kelly Duda)
Follows the sale of taintedblood from infected prisoners to Canada, Europe and Japan, thus spreading AIDSand Hepatitis C.

Monster Road (US, Dir: Brett Ingram)
This filmexplores the life and work of celebrated clay and line animator Bruce Bickford,best known for the animations he created for musician Frank Zappa in the 1970s.

Plagues &Pleasures: A Life At The Salton Sea (US, Dirs: Chris Metzler, Jeff Springer)
In the 1960's,the Salton Sea was a leading working class vacationer's destination and waschampioned as the next Palm Springs. Today it sits nearly abandoned.

The Watershed (US, Dir: Mary Trunk)
Film-maker Trunkchronicles her parents' alcoholism and the family's resulting fall fromfinancial opulence to a life on welfare.