I IS FOR ISSUES. There are Sundance films, most of them documentaries, that explore such hot-button topics as the Iraq War ("Ghosts of Abu Ghraib," "Grace is Gone" and "No End in Sight"), global warming ("Everything's Cool"), race relations ("Banished") and religion ("For the Bible Tells Me So").

J IS FOR JACKSON, Samuel L. Jackson, that is. The "Snakes on a Plane" star is featured in two Sundance selections this year: the Deep South fable "Black Snake Moan" and the sports drama "Resurrecting the Champ."

K IS FOR KIDNAPPING, the subject of a couple of Sundance films, including the aforementioned "Black Snake Moan," "Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)" and "Bajo Juarez, the city devouring its daughters."

L IS FOR LINDSAY LOHAN. The hard-partying actress is featured in the premiere thriller "Chapter 27" and should arrive midway through the festival to soak in the Park City nightlife, or perhaps just observe, along with her AA sponsor.

M IS FOR THE MUSIC OF SUNDANCE. In addition to the musical documentaries "Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten" and "X: The Unheard Music," there are parties with live music, and the annual Music Cafe — this year featuring such artists as The Album Leaf, Jill Sobule, Ron Sexsmith and Donovan.

N IS FOR NONFICTION FILMS, or documentary features. Sundance now has two competition categories for these "reality" films, including one devoted to World Cinema documentaries — for a total of 42 documentary features in this year's festival.

O IS FOR THE OFFICIAL SUNDANCE WEB SITE, www.sundance.org, which includes ticket information and just about everything else you might wonder about, as well as hosting a free Online Film Festival with many of the competing short films.

P IS FOR FESTIVAL PASSES, which allow patrons to get into screenings before ticket holders — and sometimes into the supposedly sold-out films (depending on which pass you hold). These are already gone by now, of course, but later this year you may want to check into buying one for Sundance 08.

Q IS FOR QUEUES, which you'll need to stand in before most Sundance screenings. There are also wait lists and lines for those patiently hoping to get into sold-out screenings. (The Salt Lake wait lists often yield the best results.)