Sundance Film Festival unveils 2019 feature film slate

LOS ANGELES >> Annette Bening plays Senator Dianne Feinstein, Zac Efron takes on Ted Bundy, Awkwafina dives into a dramatic role, and Harvey Weinstein gets a documentary spotlight in films that will premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival in January.

The Sundance Institute revealed on Wednesday 111 feature films, culled from 4,018 submissions, set to screen at the annual festival this January in Park City, Utah.

From incisive documentaries to groundbreaking dramas and edgy genre fare, films that launch at Sundance make up many of independent films populating theaters for the rest of the year, and often find their way into the Oscar conversation too (think, “Get Out” and “Call Me By Your Name”). Films that debuted earlier this year at Sundance include awards buzzworthy documentaries like “RBG,” “Three Identical Strangers” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” and narrative films like “Wildlife,” “Private Life,” “Eighth Grade” and “Sorry to Bother You.”

Festival programmers promise a similar breadth of original viewpoints, authenticity in storytelling, new talents, a particularly robust world cinema section and films that might show actors in a new light.

“The Farewell,” from director Lulu Wang, is just one of those. It features this summer’s comedy breakout Awkwafina (“Crazy Rich Asians” and “Ocean’s 8”) in a dramatic turn as a Chinese-American woman who returns to China to stay with her terminally ill grandmother.

“I think it’s a great showcase for her,” said Kim Yutani, Sundance’s new director of programming.

Festival director John Cooper notes that “Honey Boy,” written by and starring Shia LaBeouf, is also one that might surprise audiences. Lucas Hedges plays a younger version of LaBeouf in this story about a child TV star and his father.

“He’s stepping out into a place