Another film at this year's festival has received notoriety less for what it contains than for what it doesn't. "Thumbsucker," whose cast includes Keanu Reeves and Vincent D'Onofrio, is a comedy-drama based on author Walter Kirn's novel about a teenager with a chronic thumb-sucking problem. In the book, the boy tries all sorts of solutions to cure himself of the affliction, including mood-altering drugs, hypnosis — and joining the LDS Church.

However, the film's writer/director Mike Mills excised all the LDS content (as well as other changes, including the location and time period).

"I had no idea what (Kirn was) going to think," Mills said. "He's a big author and a pretty intense critic. And so then we go and meet, and he's like, 'Hey, how's it going? Loved the adaptation.' "

The third local connection comes with the short film "Mary," Aaron Ruell's two-minute comedy that is playing in the festival with "New York Doll." "Mary" is about a young girl who experiences visions of the Virgin Mary.

Ruell is another BYU graduate, and he has gained some notoriety as an actor; he played Kip, the brother of "Napoleon Dynamite."

At the Sundance screenings of "New York Doll" and "Mary," Ruell and Whiteley have been engaging in a bit of mock rivalry. "Thanks for indulging me," Whitely told the audience at one screening, "by staying through my movie after you all really came for Aaron's."

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E-mail: jeff@desnews.com