In the next few days Sundance will be unveiling the 2013 lineup starting with today’s Competition titles.  I’ll be sharing and breaking down each section, and only once the entire program is announced on Monday, I’ll dive into and talk about the Latino and American Latino element in the festival.  But for now lets start with some US DRAMA:

16 titles

Half, thats right half (8/16) are FEMALE DIRECTORS    – YAY!

10 alumni (11 if you count Jerush Hess who had screenwriting/producing credit on hubby’s Napoleon Dynamite – its a posse thing and one that makes complete sense to CONTINUE to support the CAREERS of the artists who break through at the fest.

Of all the alumni, the longest time since their previous visit and hence might be the mostly anticipated follow up will be Shane Carruth whose genre-defying craziness, PRIMER was at the 2004 festival and is unveiling his sophomore feature, UPSTREAM COLOR

4 projects have been supported by Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters/Directors lab  (MA GEORGE, AINT THEM BODIES SAINTS, FRUITVALE, MAY IN THE SUMMER)

2 African American filmmakers –   NICE!

American Latino filmmakers  = 0=  😦

4 filmmakers who have had shorts in the festival  are premiering their feature debuts:

Jill Soloway returns with AFTERNOON DELIGHT  after last year’s hilarious short Una Hora Porfavora.  Check out the short here:

Lake Bell returns with IN A WORLD….. after her short, Your Own Worst Enemy played in the 2011 edition

Jordan Vogt Roberts is back with TOY HOUSE after his popular (and my all-time favorite) short film, Successful Alcoholics.  If you haven’t watched, do so now:

John Krokidas is back with his long anticipated, Kill Your Darlings.  John had a really cool experimental short back in 2002 called Slo-Mo.  There’s a crappy version on Youtube here.

And David Lowery whose short film PIONEER was at the 2011 Festival (also DP on Lovers of Hate) is showing his second feature AINT THEM BODIES SAINTS