Sundance Film Festival 2013 To Feature Three Films From Chile, One From Mexico

On Wednesday, the Sundance Institute announced the films that will participate in the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions as well as the out-of-competition NEXT <=> section for the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

The Festival, which is held January 17-27 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah, also revealed the films that will appear in the Spotlight, Park City at Midnight and New Frontier presentations on Thursday.

Among the twelve films chosen for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, only two hailed from Latin America, Crystal Fairy (Chile) and The Future (Chile, Germany, Italy and Spain). The World Cinema Documentary Competition, on the other hand, did not include any films from Latin America.

Crystal Fairy, directed and written by Sebastián Silva, tells the story of Jamie, who invites a stranger on a road trip to Chile. The film, which will make its world premiere at Sundance, includes cast members Michael Cera ('Arrested Development'), Gabby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva and Agustín Silva.

The Future, directed and written by Alicia Scherson, follows the lives of orphans Bianca and Tomas as they explore adulthood. The Chilean-German-Italian-Spanish film, which will also make its world premiere at the festival, includes cast members Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer ('Batman Begins,' 'Sin City'), Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis and Alessandro Giallocosta.

Big name actors Daniel Radcliffe (Kill Your Darlings), Jessica Biel (Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes) and Jane Lynch (Afternoon Delight) are just a few that will attend the festival for their films in the U.S. Dramatic Cometition.

Chile scored another spot among the Spotlight installation during the upcoming festival. Its film, No (Chile, USA) by director Pablo Larraín and screenwriter Pedro Peirano, follows the election campaign headed by a young advertising executive following Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet's call for a referendum to decide his continuance in power. No includes cast members Gael García Bernal ('Babel,' 'The Motorcycle Diaries'), Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers, Luis Gnecco, Marcial Tagle and Néstor Cantillana.

In the New Frontier installation, which "highlights work that celebrates experimentation and the expansion of cinema culture," Mexico scored a spot with its film Halley. The film, by director/screenwriter Sebastian Hofmann and screenwriter Julio Chavezmontes, focuses on the living death of Alberto who forms an unlikely friendship with Luly. Cast members of Halley include Alberto Trujillo, Lourdes Trueba and Hugo Albores.  

According to a press release by the Sundance Institute, the 2013 Sundance Film Festival will feature 113 feature-length films "representing 32 countries and 51 first-time filmmakers, including 27 in competition."