Sundance. Competition lineups.

"Films with emotion, movies with global themes and international collaboration, and activist documentaries are among the roster of 64 competition features set for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, January 15 - 25th in Utah," writes Brian Brooks, introducing the titles and capsule descriptions at indieWIRE. "Announced today, the competition lineups include a mix of new and established filmmakers. Combined with the non-competition films that will be announced tomorrow, the 2009 Sundance Film Festival feature film lineup will include a whopping 91 world premieres among the 118 titles."

Updated through 12/4.

Updates, 12/4: The New York Times' Michael Cieply reports that programmers see the lineup as reflecting "an unusual tilt toward the emotional - maybe even melodramatic - side of independent cinema.... The festival's flavor is also going to be a bit more international."

"If you got into Sundance '09 then you already received the call and are probably making plans, likely pondering a 'team' that includes a potential publicist or a sales rep," writes indieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez. "Meanwhile, the nearly 3,500 who aren't in this year's line up are strategizing their next steps and pondering which fest to pursue now. I've got some tips for both groups."

"Well before the US economy nose-dived, the market for highbrow movies was cratering." John Horn reports in the Los Angeles Times on the challenges facing the films that have even made it as far Park City.

Flavorwire picks five "we're the most excited about."

Karina Longworth picks out nine films "that are notable/exciting to me on first skim."

IFC's Alison Willmore offers "15 observations on the Sundance lineup."

Posted by dwhudson at December 3, 2008 1:11 PM