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Now that Sundance's slate is announced, it's time for Sundance's tagalong kid brother, the Slamdance Film Festival, to tell us what it's bringing to Park City in January.
The first 18 titles — 10 narrative features and eight documentaries, all in competition — were announced this morning.
Slamdance runs Jan. 20-26 at the Treasure Mountain Inn, 255 Main St., at the top of the hill on Park City's Historic Old Main. For program info and tickets, go to the Slamdance website.
Here's a rundown of the titles:
Narrative competition
Bindlestiffs • Three high-school kids, suspended for spraying graffiti, head to the inner city to live out their version of The Catcher in the Rye. Director Andrew Edison and his co-writer, Luke Loftin, star with John Karna.
Comforting Skin • (Canada) A woman (Victoria Bidewell) wills a tattoo to come to life on her skin, and forms a surreal and destructive relationship with it. Written and directed by Derek Franson.
Doppelgänger Paul (or A Film About How Much I Hate Myself) • (Canada) Two lonely men (Brad Dryborough, Tygh Runyan) meet, and the consequences include a lost thumb, a lost manuscript and appearances on a morning talk show. Directed by Dylan Akio Smith and Kris Elgstrand; written by Elgstrand.
Faith, Love and Whiskey • (Bulgaria) A Bulgarian woman (Ana Stojanovska) flees her rich American fiancé to return to her wild life back home. Directed by Kristina Nikolova, who co-wrote with Paul Dalio.
Heavy Girls • (Germany) When an elderly woman wanders off, her son and her male caretaker search for her — and discover a confusing attraction for each other. Directed by Alex Ranisch, who co-wrote with Heiko Pinkowski and Peter Trabner.
OK, Good • A struggling actor (Hugo Armstrong) hits the brink after harsh auditions and a cult-like movement workshop. Armstrong and director Daniel Martinico wrote the script.
Roller Town • (Canada) Three friends are pitted against a crime syndicate trying to turn their favorite roller rink into a video arcade in this story, set during the disco era. Directed by Andrew Bush, who co-wrote with Mark Little and Scott Vrooman (two of the film's stars).
The Sound of Small Things • Miscommunication and suspicion threaten the marriage of newlyweds Cara (who's deaf) and Sam. Written and directed by Peter McLarnan.
Sundowning • (Singapore/United States) A young amnesiac (Shannon Fitzpatrick) forms a relationship with her mysterious caregiver (Susan Chau). Written and directed by Frank Rinaldi.
Welcome to Pine Hill • A claims adjuster who moonlights as a bouncer must confront his past life as a drug dealer. Written and directed by Keith Miller.
Documentary competition
Buffalo Girls • (Thailand/United States) Eight-year-old girls in rural Thailand get into the underground child-boxing market to support their families. Directed by Todd Kellstein.
Danland • "Porno Dan," an amateur porn producer, seeks intimacy in spite of himself and his industry. Directed by Alexandra Berger, who wrote with Ann Husaini.
The First Season • Rudd Simmons directs this look at a family fighting to create a thriving dairy farm.
Getting Up • L.A. graffiti artist Tony "Tempt" Quan, paralyzed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), finds a technology that reads his eye movements and allows him to create art again. Directed by Caskey Ebeling, written by Tempt.
I Want My Name Back • Master Gee and Wonder Mike, members of the original Sugar Hill Gang and creators of the hip-hop classic "Rapper's Delight," work to reclaim their place in music history. Directed by Roger Paradiso.
Kelly • Director James Stenson spotlights a transgender prostitute searching for love and acceptance in Hollywood.
No Ashes, No Phoenix • (Germany) Director-writer Jens Pfeifer gets into the locker room with young basketball players in Hagen, Germany.
We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists • Writer-director Brian Knappenberger takes an inside look at Anonymous, the collective of "hacktivists" who take civil disobedience to the Internet.
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