The Sundance 2009 competition list has been announced just over a month before the festival gets underway on 15th January.
Sundance, which is backed by actor Robert Redford, put independent movies in the spotlight as well as uncovering new American and global acting and directing talent. Past successes at the festival have included Little Miss Sunshine and Young @ Heart.
The honour of opening the festival falls to clay animation Mary and Max, which follows an older man in America and a young girl in Australia and how they become pen pals and strike up an enduring friendship.
The festival will present 118 feature-length films, including 91 world premieres according to the festival statement.
The submissions were slightly up on this year as 3,661, compared to 3,624 in 2008, and of these 2,038 were fighting it out for the U.S. and world dramatic competition while 1,623 were vying for documentary spots.
The festival runs from 15th January to 24th January.
Dramatic Competition
* Adam (Max Mayer)
* Amreeka (Cherien Dabis)
* Big Fan (Robert Siegel)
* Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (John Krasinski)
* Cold Souls (Sophie Barthes)
* Dare (Adam Salky)
* Don’t Let Me Drown (Cruz Angeles)
* The Dream of the Romans (John Hindman)
* The Greatest (Shana Feste)
* Humpday (Lynn Shelton)
* Paper Heart (Nicolas Jasenovec)
* Peter and Vandy (Jay DiPietro)
* Push (Lee Daniels)
* Sin nombre (Cary Fukunaga)
* Taking Chance (Ross Katz)
* Toe to Toe (Emily Abt)
Documentary Competition
* Art and Copy (Doug Pray)
* Boy Interrupted (Dana Perry)
* Sergio (Greg Barker)
* The Cove (Louie Psihoyos
* Crude (Joe Berlinger)
* Dirt the Movie (Bill Benenson, Gene Rosow)
* The General (Natalia Almada)
* Good Hair (Jeff Stilson)
* Over the Hills and Far Away (Michel Scott)
* The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court (Pamela Yates)
* Reporter (Eric Daniel Metzgar)
* The September Issue (R.J. Cutler)
* Shouting Fire: Stories From the Edge of Free Speech (Liz Garbus)
* We Live in Public (Ondi Timoner)
* When You’re Strange (Tom DiCillo)
* William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe (Sarah Kunstler, Emily Kuntsler)
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
* Before Tomorrow (Madeline Piujuq, Marie-Helene Cousineau, Canada)
* Bronson (Nicolas Winding Refn, U.K.)
* Carmo, Hit the Road (Murilo Pasta, Spain)
* The Clone Returns (Kanji Nakajima, Japan)
* Dada’s Dance (Zhang Yuan, China)
* An Education (Lone Scherfig, U.K.)
* Five Minutes of Heaven (Oliver Hirschbiegel, U.K.)
* A French Gigolo (Josiane Balasko, France)
* Heart of Time (Alberto Cortes, Mexico)
* Louise-Michel (Benoit Delepine, Gustave Kervern, France)
* Lulu and Jim (Oskar Roehler, Germany)
* The Maid (Sebastian Silva, Chile)
* One Day in a Life (Stefano Tummolini, Italy)
* Unmade Beds (Alexis Dos Santos, U.K.)
* Victoria Day (David Bezmozgis, Canada)
* Zion and His Brother (Eran Merav, France-Israel)
World Cinema Documentary Competition
* Afghan Star (Havana Marking, Afghanistan-U.K.)
* Big River Man (John Maringouin, U.S.)
* Burma VJ (Anders Oestergaard, Denmark)
* The End of the Line (Rupert Murray, U.K.)
* The Glass House (Hamid Rahmanian, U.S.)
* Kimjongilia (N.C. Heikin, France-U.S.)
* Let’s Make Money (Erwin Wagenhofer, Austria-China-South Africa-Spain-Switzerland-U.S.)
* Nollywood Babylon (Ben Addelman, Samir Mallall, Canada)
* Old Partner (Lee Chung-ryoul, South Korea)
* Prom Night in Mississippi (Paul Saltzman, Canada)
* The Queen and I (Nahid Persson Sarvestani, Sweden)
* Quest for Honor (Mary Ann Bruni, U.S.)
* Rough Aunties (Kim Longinotto, U.K.)
* Thriller in Manila (John Dower, U.K.)
* Tibet in Song (Ngawang Choephel, U.S.)
* 211:Anna (Paolo Serbandini, Giovanna Massimetti, Italy)