Running January 15-25, 2009, in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, UT, the 25th Sundance Film Festival has announced the films that will compete in the U.S. and world cinema dramatic and documentary competitions.

Brind and Salky originally created "Dare" as an independent short film. Following a host of accolades at gay and lesbian film festivals across the country, the duo set out to explore "Dare" as a full-length film. The work will compete in the U.S. dramatic category.

Tony Award winner Cady Huffman and Sandra Bernhard, who both starred in Brind's 2006 short "Twenty Dollar Drinks," appear in the film that also features Emmy Rossum, Alan Cumming, Ana Gasteyer, Ashley Springer and Rooney Mara.

"Dare" centers on a group of high-school seniors: the good girl, the bad boy and the outsider. A brief encounter between the two male characters Ben and Johnny was the focal point of the short. The feature expands its scope to accommodate interwoven stories of additional characters.

Numerous theatre folk also appear in the Sundance U.S. dramatic competition. Max Mayer's film "Adam" features Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving and Frankie Faison. "Arlen Faber," written and directed by John Hindman, includes Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Pucci, Olivia Thirlby and Kat Dennings. Dominic Cooper, Timothy Hutton and Julianne Nicholson join John Kasinski for his film "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men," while Sophie Barthes' "Cold Souls" features Paul Giamatti, Dina Korzun, David Strathairn, Emily Watson, Lauren Ambrose and Oksana Lada.

Shana Feste's "The Greatest" features Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon and Carey Mulligan. Jess Weixler and Jason Ritter appear in Jay DiPietro's "Peter and Vandy." Kevin Bacon headlines "Taking Chance," directed by Ross Katz who co-wrote the film with Michael Strobl.

For a complete list of films in the Dramatic and Documentary categories, visit SundanceFilmFestival.