Rock, Brosnan, Sarandon line up for Sundance

Emily Watson

LOS ANGELES, Dec 4 — Films featuring Chris Rock, Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, Paul Giamatti and Emily Watson are among those competing for top honours at January's Sundance Film Festival.

Rock appears in the documentary "Good Hair," director Jeff Stilson's examination of African-American hairstyles, which was among 64 films announced yesterday in Sundance's four competitions for US and world cinema.

Brosnan and Sarandon star in director Shana Feste's "The Greatest," about a couple coping with the loss of their teenage son, while Giamatti and Watson are among the cast of Sophie Barthes' "Cold Souls," centering on an actor in an existential crisis.
Pierce Brosnan

The festival that showcases independent film runs from Jan 15-25 in Park City, Utah.

Others films among the 16 in the US drama category include the romance "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men," the writing-directing debut of "The Office" co-star John Krasinski. He also appears in the film along with Timothy Hutton, Julianne Nicholson and "Office" colleague Rashida Jones.

The overall Sundance lineup is hard to categorise but will be heavy on "romance and activism," said festival director Geoffrey Gilmore.
Susan Sarandon

"The issue about romance is it feels like a new generation taking the idea of love stories and romantic melodrama into their own direction," Gilmore said.

The US and world documentary competitions are loaded with films examining social and environmental issues, including the ocean-wildlife studies "The Cove" and "The End of the Line," the oil chronicle "Crude," the top-soil tale "Dirt: The Movie" and the financial expose "Let's Make Money."

Also in the Sundance dramatic lineup: "The Dream of the Romans," with Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham in a story about the reclusive author of an influential spiritual book; "An Education," an adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel starring Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina and Emma Thompson; "Five Minutes of Heaven," an Irish political drama with Liam Neeson; and "Taking Chance," a military homefront saga with Kevin Bacon.

The documentary categories also include "When You're Strange," a chronicle of Jim Morrison and the Doors; "Thriller in Manila," examining the final boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier; and "William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe," a portrait of the civil-rights lawyer directed by his daughters, Sarah and Emily Kunstler.

The overall Sundance lineup presents 118 feature-length films, which were chosen from 3,661 submissions. Films in the star-studded premieres section and other categories will be announced today. — AP