Sundance festival to open with comedy "In Bruges"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Sundance Film Festival, the top U.S. gathering for independent filmmakers, on Monday unveiled its opening-night movie, a comedy called "In Bruges" starring Ralph Fiennes and Colin Farrell.

The movie was written and directed by award-winning Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, who makes his feature-film debut with "In Bruges."

"(The film) is brutal, philosophical, funny and totally original," Sundance festival director Geoffrey Gilmore said in a statement.

"In Bruges" tells of two hit men (Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) who botch a job in London and are ordered by their boss (Fiennes) to head to Bruges, Belgium, where they run afoul of locals, tourists and others.

McDonagh is known for plays including "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" and "The Lieutenant of Inishmore," which were nominated for Tony awards. He also directed one short film, "Six Shooter," which won an Oscar for best short film of 2005.

The 2008 Sundance festival runs January 17-27 in the ski resort town of Park City, Utah, east of Salt Lake City.

The festival was founded by actor Robert Redford, and over the years has been a key arena for little-known filmmakers, actors and actresses.

Sundance also has showcased low-budget independent or specialty movies that attract top talent because the films explore dramatic themes that Hollywood studios do not.

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Xavier Briand)