Sundance's competition slate gets the press buzzing

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

When the Sundance Film Festival's competition slate drops — as it did on Wednesday — it's always interesting to see the different things people get excited about. (And by people, The Cricket means the entertainment press.)

Here's a sampling:

• The U.S. Dramatic competition films has female directors on eight of its 16 films, which is a record.

• The slate is already being sized up for the marketability of its films — with approving nods from the industry.

• Ooh, we get to see Harry Potter! Playing Allen Ginsberg!

• India will be well-represented at Sundance, with three films depicting facets of life in the world's largest democracy.

• So will San Francisco, thanks to the Filmmaker360 program there.

• But, really, it all comes down to two things: Sex and comedy.

Now, imagine how much we'll talk about once we actually see some of these movies.