Sundance Film Festival to Kick Off with Claymation

January marks the 25th edition of the Sundance Film Festival, the hottest spot in the United States for the art of independent filmmaking. Sundance has earned a reputation for featuring off-kilter productions, and this year it's kicking things off with a claymation film from Australia.

Featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Colette, the film is only the second non-live action feature to take the coveted opening slot, and the first claymation feature. Sundance director Geoffrey Gilmore called the film a "portrait of a global friendship between two marvelously dysfunctional people."

The Park City, Utah festival has always been a springboard for independent productions to gain the attention of major studios, and the film is expected to get picked up for U.S. distribution.

The Sundance Film Festival will run from Jan 15-25, 2009, and a large list of the films to be presented will be released on December 4-5.