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Sundance Announces 25th Anniversary Fest Slate

Sundance Announces 25th Anniversary Fest Slate
Copyright 2008 Bryan Bedder / Getty Images

The Sundance Film Festival is just around the corner, celebrating its 25th anniversary this coming January, and the slate of new films in competition feature some serious Hollywood star power, from Chris Rock, Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon to Mariah Carey, Paul Giamatti and Kevin Bacon!

Co-founded by legendary star and filmmaker Robert Redford in Park City, Utah, this year's indie film fest runs from January 15 to 25 and represents "a blurring of genres, a crossing of boundaries: geographic, generational, socio-economic and the like," according to fest director Geoffrey Gilmore.

'Mary and Max,' a clay animation feature film starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Collette, will be the Opening Night Film for the festival -- the tale of two unlikely pen pals: a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York.

Sixteen films in the U.S. Dramatic Competition were selected from 1,026 submissions. Some highlights:

"The Office" star John Krasinski turns writer-director and also stars in 'Brief Interviews with Hideous Men,' about a doctoral candidate in anthropology who tries to remedy her heartache by interviewing men about their behavior. Julianne Nicholson, Timothy Hutton and Christopher Meloni also star.

Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon co-star in 'The Greatest,' about a family thrown into turmoil by the arrival of a young woman.

Mo'Nique, Lenny Kravitz and Mariah Carey bring the best-selling novel Push to the big screen -- the redemptive story of a young girl in Harlem struggling to overcome tremendous obstacles and discover her own voice.

Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn and Emily Watson star in 'Cold Souls,' about a famous American actor in the midst of an existential crisis who explores soul extraction as a relief from the burdens of daily life.

Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher and Amy Irving star in 'Adam,' a strange and lyrical love story between a somewhat socially dysfunctional young man and the woman of his dreams.

Former "Gilmore Girls" star Lauren Graham and Jeff Daniels team up for 'Arlen Faber,' in which a reclusive author of a groundbreaking spiritual book awakens to new truths when two strangers enter his life.

Emmy Rossum, Ana Gasteyer, Alan Cumming and Sandra Bernhard find intrigue in a suburban prep school in 'Dare.'

'Juno' and 'Superbad' star Michael Cera plays himself in 'Paper Heart,' about a performer (Charlyne Yi) in search of true love who meets unlikely fellow traveler Cera.

And Kevin Bacon stars in 'Taking Chance,' a story based on true events of a volunteer military escort officer who accompanies the body of a 19-year-old Marine back to his hometown of Dubois, Wyoming.

In addition to two other categories, 16 documentaries are also in competition, covering such wide-ranging topics as the advertising industry, autism and mental illness, rainforest and ocean disasters, civil rights, the Internet's impact and even what's happening on the top of your head in 'Good Hair,' with funnyman Chris Rock examining the culture of African-American hair and hairstyles.

The complete list of films is available at http://www.sundance.org/festival.

Posted December 03, 2008 11:24:00 AM
See All: chris rock mariah carey movies pierce brosnan robert redford Sundance Film Festival

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