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No Comments [ Add Comment ]Sundance 2009 / Festival announces first round of films, and their many stars
By Nancy Van ValkenburgSundance Film Festival organizers have announced the first of the 2009 films -- including world premieres, documentaries and dramatic films -- to be screened at venues in Park City, Ogden, Salt Lake City and Sundance.
And along with that list are the Hollywood actors and directors involved, many of whom will visit Utah for the screenings.
The list includes 16 Dramatic Competition films made in the United States, all of them world premieres. They include:
* "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men," about an anthropology graduate student who gets dumped, then conducts behavioral interviews with men. This is John Krasinski's writing and directorial debut, starring himself, Julianne Nicholson, Timothy Hutton and Dominic Cooper.
* "Push," about Precious Jones, an overweight, illiterate, pregnant Harlem teen struggling to overcome obstacles, stars Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey and Mo'Nique Imes.
* "Cold Souls," about an American actor who explores soul extraction as a relief from the burdens of daily life, stars Paul Giamatti, Emily Watson and Lauren Ambrose.
Additional films in this category feature Alan Cummings, Rose Byrne, Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, Jason Ritter, Jesse L. Martin, Lauren Graham, Jeff Daniels, Amy Irving and Kevin Bacon.
The 16 World Cinema Dramatic Competition films include British films starring Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson, and films from Mexico, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, China, Spain, Japan and Sweden. Sundance also announced its U.S. Documentaries and World Documentaries categories. For a full list of films, visit www.standard.net.
Sundance will announce the rest of its program today, with films in categories including Premieres, Spectrum, New Frontiers and Park City at Midnight.
"This year's films are not narrowly defined," Geoffrey Gilmore, director of the 25-year-old festival, said in a statement. "Instead we have a blurring of genres, a crossing of boundaries: geographic, generational, socio-economic and the like. The result is both an exhilarating and emotive festival in which traditional mythologies are suspended, discoveries are made, and creative storytelling is embraced."
Sundance will announce the films coming to Ogden, and screening times and venue assignments for all films, on Dec. 12.
To register for a chance at an advance ticket purchasing appointment, visit http://festival.sundance.org/2009. Utah residents may register for a chance under both the Locals Only option and the general option. Tickets for those who get appointments will go on sale Jan. 3 at box offices in Park City and Salt Lake City.
People buying tickets for Ogden screenings do not need to register for appointments. Those will be available on Jan. 3 at Peery's Egyptian Theater, 2415 Washington Blvd.
The Sundance Film Festival runs Jan. 15-25.
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