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Chris Morris film to debut at Sundance

Sundance festival director John Cooper said the event is about discovering talent

Sundance festival director John Cooper said the event is about discovering talent

British satirist Chris Morris's new comedy about a group of possible terrorists is set to premiere at the Sundance film festival.

Four Lions, which tells the story of four British Muslim men at a militant training camp, is one of 113 films which will be shown during the ten-day festival.

According to Morris, Four Lions makes Islamist extremists look "scary but also ridiculous", doing what Dad's Army did for Nazis.

Although the comedy was fully funded by Film Four, it was initially rejected by the BBC and Channel 4.

Best known as the creator of Brass Eye, Morris caused controversy in 2001 when a Brass Eye TV special poked fun at the moral panic surrounding paedophilia.

Among the films in the main Sundance competition, which was won in 2009 by Push: Based on a Novel by Sapphire, is Sympathy For Delicious by director Mark Ruffalo, starring Orlando Bloom and Juliette Lewis. Welcome to the Rileys, starring Kristen Stewart and James Gandolfini, has also been shortlisted.

Next year's event will also include a new section called Next, featuring eight films shot on low budgets, mostly made by unknown filmmakers and actors.

Speaking about the introduction of the new section, festival director John Cooper said they wanted to make sure all talent is recognised.

"We're a discovery festival, but we're not just about the discovery of films. We're about the discovery of talent," he added.

The event will take place in Utah from the 21st of January to the end of the month.

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