The Sundance Film Festivalunleashed a typically challenging American and world cinema competition line-uptoday [Monday] that bore the festival's hallmarks of eclectic,socially-conscious story-telling.
The American dramatic andcompetition each feature 16 titles from more than 1,760 submissions, and arematched this year by their world cinema counterparts
Since launching in 2005 thenumber of entries in the world cinema documentary strand has risen from 12 to16 entries. Each of the world cinema documentary and dramatic categoriescontains 16 titles culled from more than 1,300 submissions.
The American categoriescover a dynamic slate ranging from documentaries like Lauren Greenfield'seating disorder study Thin,Patrick Creadon's paean to New York Times crossword chief Will Shortz Wordplay and James Longley's account of contemporary Iraq IraqIn Fragments, to narrative taleslike Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland's tale of disaffected Latinos in Quinceanera, Hilary Brougher's procedural mystery StephanieDaley and Joey Lauren Adams' accountof addiction in Come Early Morning.
Diversity is writ large inthe world cinema categories, where documentaries like Christian Frei's TheGiant Buddhas (Switzerland), anaccount of the Taliban's destruction of the giant icons, and Tin Dirdamal'sMexican title about the heartbreak of immigration No One vie for attention with dramatic competitioncontenders such as Christoffer Boe's Danish tale of an amnesiac pianist in Allegro and Zhang Yuan's Chinese entry Little Red Flowers, about the struggle to conform in apost-revolutionary orphanage.
"I've gone to Sarajevo andtrawled through numerous international festivals and my team has covered theglobe sourcing provocative entries for the festival," Sundance festival directorGeoff Gilmore said. "These films are about risk-taking, just as they are withthe American entries, and that's what defines Sundance. We've got a lot ofmid-career international auteurs here like Christoffer Boe and Fabian Bielinsky[The Aura, Argentina] and itmakes for an extraordinary programme."
Gilmore also pointed to athriving market when he said that for the first time both Fortissimo chiefs Wouter Barendrecht and Michael Werner would beflying into Utah, as would top brass from Wild Bunch, Celluloid Dreams andFlach Pyramide.
As far as the US line-upgoes, Gilmore said the roster was as strong as ever, and bristled with tales ofmoral conflict, immigration, and social alienation, among other subjects."These films are aesthetic, personal accounts of the social milieu and thedetail and nuance makes them special. A lot of these entries came to us fromout of the blue and that freshness takes us back to our roots as a festival ofindependent cinema."
Overall 120 features wereselected for the festival, which runs from Jan 19-29 2006. The list, more ofwhich will be unveiled this week, includes 85 world premieres, 18 NorthAmerican premieres and 14 US premieres representing 29 countries with 48first-time feature filmmakers.
Entries were selected from3,148 feature submissions composed of 1,764 US features and 1,384 internationalfeature films. By comparison the 2005 festival received 1,385 US submissionsand 1,228 international entries.
"Every category is filledwith fresh, original voices with quality storytelling that take risks and willnot be mistaken for typical mainstream fare," Gilmore added.
Festival films screen innine sections: Documentary Competition, Dramatic Competition, World CinemaDocumentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Spectrum, Frontier,Park City at Midnight, Sundance Collection and Premieres. Feature films selected for Spectrum,Frontier and Park City at Midnight categories will be announced on Nov 29, thePremieres section will be announced on Nov 30, and the Short Film programmewill be announced on Dec 5.
Documentary Competition:
A Lion In The House
Dirs: Steven Bogner, JuliaReichert
Five families - each with a child fighting cancer - navigate the ups and downsof treatment over six years.
World Premiere
American Blackout
Dir: Ian Inaba
Recounts the career of USDemocratic Representative Cynthia McKinney, encompassing civil rights andrecent Presidential elections.
World Premiere
An Unreasonable Man
Dirs: Henriette Mantel andStephen Skrovan
Rarely seen archival footageand copious interviews trace the many faces of consumer advocate andPresidential contender Ralph Nader.
World Premiere
Crossing Arizona
Dir: Joseph Mathew
Explores a range of humanstories sparked by Arizona's illegal immigrant crisis.
World Premiere
God Grew Tired Of Us
Dir: Christopher Quinn
Four boys from Sudan embarkon a journey to America after years of wandering Sub-Saharan Africa in searchof safety.
World Premiere
Ground Truth: After TheKilling Ends
Dir: Patricia Foulkrod
Investigates how themilitary trains US soldiers for war, the reality of combat in Iraq, and theeffects of war on homecoming veterans.
World Premiere
Iraq In Fragments
Dir: James Longley
Contemporary Iraqi lifeillustrated through a trio of stories set against the backdrop of war,occupation and ethnic tension.
World Premiere
Small Town Gay Bar
Dir: Malcom Ingram
Deep South tale of thestruggle for expression in the face of ignorance, hypocrisy and oppression.
World Premiere
So Much So Fast
Dirs: Steven Ascher andJeanne Jordan
The brother of a man withLou Gehrig's disease strives to find a cure, while the afflicted man's loverhas a decision to make.
World Premiere
Thin
Dir: Lauren Greenfield
Explores the struggle facedby four women with anorexia and bulimia at a residential facility for eatingdisorders in South Florida.
World Premiere
'Tis Autumn - The SearchFor Jackie Paris
Dir: Raymond De Felitta
Analyses the rise of jazzvocalist Jackie Paris and asks how much we need to know of an artist's personalstory to appreciate their art.
World Premiere
The Trials Of Darryl Hunt
Dirs: Ricki Stern and AnnieSundberg
The wrongful conviction of ablack man for a white woman's rape and murder provide a launch-pad for thisexamination of criminal justice.
World Premiere
TV Junkie
Dir: Michael Cain
Forty-six-year-old Rickfilms more than 5,000 hours of home video to discover his special purpose inlife.
World Premiere
Wide Awake
Dir: Alan Berliner
First-person account of thefilmmaker's struggle with insomnia.
World Premiere
Wordplay
Dir: Patrick Creadon
An in-depth look at TheNew York Times crossword puzzle, itseditor Will Shortz, and his loyal fan base.
World Premiere
The World According ToSesame Street
Dirs: Linda GoldsteinKnowlton and Linda Hawkins Costigan
Behind-the-scenes look athow to adapt the children's television show for audiences in the world'spolitical hotspots.
World Premiere
Dramatic Competition:
A Guide To RecognizingYour Saints
Dir: Dito Montiel
A writer recounts histeenage experiences in a tough 1980s New York neighbourhood.
World Premiere
Come Early Morning
Dir: Joey Lauren Adams
A Southern woman tries toescape her addictions and self-destructive behaviour in order to find truelove.
World Premiere
Flannel Pajamas
Dir: Jeff Lipsky
A magical evening in a dinersparks a challenging marriage between two New Yorkers.
World Premiere
Forgiven
Dir: Paul Fitzgerald
An ambitious small towndistrict attorney hears the Governor has exonerated a death row inmate whomhe'd prosecuted years before.
World Premiere
Half Nelson
Dir: Ryan Fleck
An inner-city junior highschool teacher with a drug habit befriends one of his students after shediscovers his secret.
World Premiere
Hawk Is Dying
Dir: Julian Goldberger
A Florida car upholsterertries to inject adventure into his life by training a wild red-tailed hawk.
World Premiere
In Between Days
Dir: So Yong Kim
A recent Korean immigrantfalls in love with her best and only friend, creating a troublesomerelationship.
World Premiere
Puccini For Beginners
Dir: Maria Maggenti
Screwball comedy about alesbian New York writer on the rebound who falls into two surprising andcomplicated love affairs.
World Premiere
Quinceanera
Dirs: Richard Glatzer andWash Westmoreland
Disaffected Latino teenagerscome of age in a gentrifying community in Los Angeles' Echo Park district.
World Premiere
Right At Your Door
Dir: Chris Gorak
A married couple tries tosurvive after multiple dirty bombs are detonated in Los Angeles.
World Premiere
Sherrybaby
Dir: Laurie Collyer
A released female convict struggles to adapt to life without bars.
World Premiere
Somebodies
Dir: Hadjii
A college student staggers towards adulthood, despite a cast of eccentricrelatives, prankster classmates and reprobates.
World Premiere
Stay
Dir: Bob Goldthwait
An impulsive sexualencounter opens the door to a dark comedy about the complexities of honesty.
World Premiere
Steel City
Dir: Brian Jun
In a small Midwest town twoirresponsible brothers come to terms with their lives after their father isimprisoned for killing a woman.
World Premiere
Stephanie Daley
Dir: Hilary Brougher
A pregnant forensicpsychologist is hired to investigate a teenager's denial that she concealed herpregnancy and committed infanticide.
World Premiere
Wristcutters - A LoveStory
Dir: Goran Dukic
Offbeat comedy, love storyand road movie populated with a cast of dead characters.
World Premiere
World Cinema DocumentaryCompetition:
5 Days/Israel
Dir: Yoav Shamir
Chronicles the evacuation ofJewish settlers from the Gaza Strip in August 2005 to make way forPalestinians.
North American Premiere
Angry Monk - ReflectionsOn Tibet/Switzerland
Dir: Luc Schaedler
Portrait of the rebelliousTibetan monk Gendun Choephel.
North American Premiere
Black Gold/UK
Dirs: Marc Francis, NickFrancis
Follows the world of coffeeand trade from the struggling Ethiopian bean grower to your coffee cup.
World Premiere
By The Ways, A JourneyWith William Eggleston/France
Dirs: Cedric Laty, VincentGerard
Investigates the life ofWilliam Eggleston, considered by many to be the father of colour photography.
North American Premiere
Dear Pyongyang/Japan
Dir: Yang Yonghi
A Korean-Japanese daughterexplores her father's fiercely political and potentially home-wrecking loyaltyto North Korea.
North American Premiere
The Giant Buddhas/Switzerland
Dir: Christian Frei
Explores the destruction ofthe famous Buddha statues in Afghanistan.
US Premiere
Glastonbury/UK
Dir: Julian Temple
England's annual GlastonburyFestival captured over the last 30 years.
World Premiere
I Is For India/England-Germany-Italy
Dir: Sandhya Suri
A tale of migration andbelonging, told primarily through Super 8 films and audio letters sent betweenIndia and England.
World Premiere
In The Pit/Mexico
Dir: Juan Carlos Rulfo
Myth, hope and daily lifecombine in this chronicle of construction workers on Mexico City's Perifericofreeway.
World Premiere
Into Great Silence/Germany
Dir: Philip Groening
The first film ever toexamine life inside the Grande Chartreuse, the mother house of the legendaryCarthusian Order.
US Premiere
KZ/UK
Dir: Rex Bloomstein
How the town of Mauthausen,formerly the site of a German concentration camp, faces up to its dark past.
North American Premiere
No One/Mexico
Dir:Tin Dirdamal
A Central American immigrantforced to leave her family in search of a better life encounters a nightmare enroute to the US.
US Premiere
The Short Life Of JoseAntonio Gutierrez/Germany
Dir:Heidi Specogna
The tale of the first USsoldier to die in Iraq reveals the story of a Guatemalan child drawn into warby the promise of a Green card.
World Premiere
Songbirds/UK
Dir:Brian Hill
Female inmates at England'sDownview prison sing about their lives and the crimes in a musical performance.
North American Premiere
Unfolding Florence: TheMany Lives Of Florence Broadhurst/Australia
Dir: Gillian Armstrong
Recounts in colourful detailthe late blossoming of flamboyant design pioneer Florence Broadhurst.
World Premiere
Viva Zapatero/Italy
Dir:Sabina Guzzanti
A critical and playful lookat how censorship in Italy under Berlusconi contrasts with other Europeannations.
North American Premiere
World Cinema DramaticCompetition:
13 Tzameti/France
Dir:Gela Babluani
A man follows instructionsintended for someone else and falls into a clandestine world of mental chaos.
North American Premiere
Allegro/Denmark
Dir:Christoffer Boe
A famous amnesiac pianistreturns to his native Copenhagen where a mysterious messenger leads him backinto his forgotten past.
North American Premiere
The Aura/Argentina
Dir:Fabian Bielinsky
An introverted taxidermistcarries out his perfect robbery.
North American Premiere
The Blossoming Of MaximoOliveros/Philippines
Dir:Auraeus Solito
A youngster's devotion tohis family of small-time criminals in a Manila slum is undermined when hebefriends a principled policeman.
US Premiere
Eve & The Fire Horse/Canada
Dir:Julia Kwan
A precocious nine-year-oldgrowing up in a Vancouver Chinese immigrant community experiences culturalconfusion.
US Premiere
Grbavica/Bosnia-Herzegovina
Dir:Jasmila Zbanic
A woman and her daughterfight to survive in the painful aftermath of the Balkan war.
World Premiere
The House Of Sand/Brazil
Dir:Andrucha Waddington
The story of a womanspanning three generations.
US Premiere
Kiss Me Not On The Eyes/Lebanon
Dir:Jocelyne Saab
An educated young Egyptianwoman defends her artistic integrity as a dancer and her social independence.
US Premiere
Little Red Flowers/China
Dir:Zhang Yuan
A parable about thecomplexities of being forced to fit in to a regimented society inpost-revolutionary China.
World Premiere
Madeinusa/Peru
Dir:Claudia Llosa
Madeinusa is a sweet girlwho lives in an isolated village in Peru. Everything changes when a geologistarrives from Lima.
World Premiere
No. 2/New Zealand
Dir:Toa Fraser
Nanna Maria's family hasforgotten how to party, but Nanna plans to inject some ife into her loved ones.
World Premiere.
One Last Dance/Singapore
Dir:Max Makowski
An assassin is hired to killthe men responsible for kidnapping an important man's son.
World Premiere
The Peter Pan Formula/South Korea
Dir:Cho Chang-Ho
An adolescent boy confrontspremature independence as his mother lies in a coma and he experiences thefirst tugs of sexual desire.
North American Premiere
Princesas/Spain
Dir:Fernando Leon de Aranoa
Two women form anunbreakable bond despite their differences as they fight to make ends meet inthe big city.
US Premiere
Solo Dios Sabe/Brazil-Mexico
Dir:Carlos Bolado
High jinks in South Americaas a young Brazilian art student crosses paths with a roguish Mexicanjournalist.
World Premiere
Son Of Man/South Africa
Dir:Mark Dornford-May
Jesus' life story translatedto modern-day South Africa.
World Premiere
A complete list of films andother information is available at www.sundance.org.
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