Sundance announces Independent Film and World Cinema competitions

The Sundance Institute has announced the line-up of 64 films selected for the Independent Film and World Cinema Competitions for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The festival runs Jan. 18-28, 2007, in Park City, Sundance, Salt Lake City, and Ogden.

The dramatic and documentary sections of the Independent Film and World Cinema Competitions each present 16 films, for a total of 64 films that screen in competition. The Independent Film Competition is the heart of the Sundance Film Festival program and has introduced audiences to many of the best American independent films and filmmakers of the past two decades. Launched in 2005, the World Cinema Competition reflects the shared commitment of the Festival and Sundance Institute to support international artists, to provide audiences with an opportunity to discover the most compelling work by international filmmakers.

"In this year's program, filmmakers are exploring different narrative techniques and devices, pushing the documentary form to new limits, and embracing a global perspective in filmmaking," said John Cooper, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival. "The films in the World Cinema competition embrace complex stories and are exploring topics that transcend the confines of personal, geographic, and artistic borders."

INDEPENDENT FILM COMPETITION: DOCUMENTARY

Since the inaugural Independent Film Competition in 1985, documentary films have been given the same profile at the Festival as fiction films, with the Documentary Competition becoming a focal point of the Festival. These films represent a broad section of the best new documentary films by American independent filmmakers. This year's eclectic program features a range of films with personal, political, and global stories including current and historical examination about the effects of war, global warming, racism in America, a 50 year love story, and the personal and public role of religion in America.

This year's 16 films were selected from 856 submissions by American filmmakers. Each film is a world premiere.

The films screening in Documentary Competition are:

• BANISHED (Director: Marco Williams) — This story of three U.S. towns which, in the early 20th century, forced their entire African American populations to leave, explores what — if anything — can be done to repair past racial injustice. World Premiere.