DAILY NEWS for
Thursday December 4 2008

SUNDANCE UNVEILS FESTIVAL LINEUP

Thematically, the lineup for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, announced Wednesday, marks a noticeable generational shift.

So says fest director Geoff Gilmore, who will preside over the presentation of 118 feature-length films, including 91 world premieres.

The pics in this year’s lineup show "an awareness of the world that wasn’t there a dozen years ago. It comes from the Internet, from a realization that America is not cut off from the rest of the world," Gilmore said.

Sundance will unspool Jan. 15-25 in Park City, Utah.

DRAMATIC COMPETITION LINEUP

* "Adam," directed and written by Max Mayer ("Better Living"), about a slightly dysfunctional man’s attempt at a relationship with an alluring new neighbor. Stars Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving, Frankie Faison.

* "Amreeka," directed and written by Cherien Dabis, a drama examining the challenges faced by a divorced Palestinian woman and her teenage son upon moving to rural Illinois. With Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem.

* "Arlen Faber," directed and written by John Hindman, about the intrusion of two strangers into the life of a famous reclusive author. With Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Pucci, Olivia Thirlby, Kat Dennings.

* "Big Fan," directed and written by Robert Siegel (writer of "The Wrestler"), which hinges on the reaction of a parking garage attendant when his favorite football player beats him up. Features Patton Oswalt, Michael Rapaport, Kevin Corrigan.

* "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men," an adaptation of the book by the late David Foster Wallace by director-writer John Krasinski ("The Office"), which has a doctoral candidate in anthropology interview men in an attempt to understand why her boyfriend left her. Stars Julianne Nicholson, Krasinski, Timothy Hutton, Dominic Cooper.

* "Cold Souls," directed and written by Sophie Barthes ("Zimove vesilya"), about a Russian mobster keen to extract the soul of an actor. Toplines Paul Giamatti, Dina Korzun, David Strathairn, Emily Watson, Lauren Ambrose, Oksana Lada.

* "Dare," which director Adam Salky and writer David Brind expanded from Salky’s 2005 short about the sexual explorations of prep schoolers. With Emmy Rossum, Zach Gilford, Ashley Springer.

* "Don’t Let Me Drown," directed by Cruz Angeles and written by Angeles and Maria Topete, a "Romeo and Juliet"-like story about two Caribbean islands teens in the Bronx after 9/11.

* "The Greatest," directed and written by Shana Feste, which focuses on the unexpected arrival of a young woman into the home of a man and wife who have lost their teenage son. Stars Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, Carey Mulligan.

* "Humpday," directed and written by Lynn Shelton, an extreme farce about two college friends who, a decade later, push their relationship way beyond where it ever was. Features Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard.

* "Paper Heart," directed by Nicolas Jasenovec, which blurs the line between documentary and fiction as performer Charlyne Yi searches for the nature of love in the unexpected company of actor Michael Cera.

* "Peter and Vandy," directed and written by Jay DiPietro, a time-tossing New York romance starring Jess Weixler and Jason Ritter.

* "Push (Based on the Novel by Sapphire)," directed and written by Lee Daniels ("Shadowboxer," producer of "The Woodsman" and "Monster’s Ball"), an adaptation of Sapphire's bleak 1990s bestseller about life in the lower depths of poverty in the Bronx. With Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, Paula Patton, Mo’Nique Imes, Lenny Kravitz.

* "Sin nombre," directed and written by Cary Fukunaga (the 2004 short "Victoria para chino), a Spanish-language drama set in the world of migrants trying to make it from Guatemala through Mexico on their way to the U.S. A Focus Features release.

* "Taking Chance," directed by Ross Katz (co-producer of "In the Bedroom," "Lost in Translation") and written by Katz and Michael Strobl, about a military escort office who accompanies the body of a young Marine back home to Wyoming. Toplines Kevin Bacon.

* "Toe to Toe," directed and written by Emily Abt, about the academic competition between two girl friends, black and white, at a Washington, D.C., prep school who are trying to get into Princeton.

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