| courtesy Sundance Institute "Crystal Fairy" • Michael Cera plays an American who goes on a strange adventure with an eccentric woman (Gaby Hoffmann) in the Chilean desert. (Opens sometime in July.)

When the Sundance Film Festival’s competition slate drops — as it did on Wednesday — it’s always interesting to see the different things people get excited about. (And by people, The Cricket means the entertainment press.)

Here’s a sampling:

• The U.S. Dramatic competition films has female directors on eight of its 16 films, which is a record.

• The slate is already being sized up for the marketability of its films — with approving nods from the industry.

• Ooh, we get to see Harry Potter! Playing Allen Ginsberg!

• India will be well-represented at Sundance, with three films depicting facets of life in the world’s largest democracy.

• So will San Francisco, thanks to the Filmmaker360 program there.

• But, really, it all comes down to two things: Sex and comedy.

Now, imagine how much we’ll talk about once we actually see some of these movies.