The Sundance Film Festival, long-time epicenter of independent film, announced today that it will unspool a whopping 87 world premieres in its 31st running. "This year, a lot of people came out of the woodwork. A lot of the directors are ones we didn't even know about," John Cooper, the festival's director of programming, told Variety. Of the the 121 feature-length films selected for competition, 51 were made by first-time filmmakers, a bunch of Jason Reitman manques from the sound of it. "Since the world seems a little dark to people, they've turned to comedy, although comedy with a dark turn to it," said Mr. Cooper.

Highlights!

"Choke," directed and written by Clark Gregg, a raw mother-son comedy starring Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald and Brad Henke and based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuk ("Fight Club").

"The Last Word," directed and written by Geoff Haley, an irreverent romantic comedy centering on a reclusive writer-for-hire of suicide notes. Stars Winona Ryder, Wes Bentley and Ray Romano. A ThinkFilm release.

"The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," directed and written by Rawson Thurber ("Dodgeball"), an adaptation of Michael Chabon's first novel, concerning sexual exploration and a tense father-son relationship. With Jon Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Sienna Miller, Mena Suvari and Nick Nolte.

"Phoebe in Wonderland," directed and written by Daniel Barnz, an unusual coming-of-age tale about a girl (Elle Fanning) who takes her dysfunctional family on an unexpected journey. With Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson, Bill Pullman, Campbell Scott and Peter Gerety.

"Pretty Bird," directed and written by Paul Schneider, an archetypal American story about three entrepreneurs whose partnership goes awry in very nasty ways. Stars Billy Crudup, Paul Giamatti, Kristen Wiig and David Hornsby.

"Sugar," directed and written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the co-writer and writer-director, respectively, of "Half Nelson," with Algenis Perez Soto as a Dominican baseball star recruited to play in the U.S. minor leagues.

Click "read more" for a full list of movies.

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