14 of the Most Intriguing Films on the Sundance Roster

If you're like me, then you're probably wishing you were in Park City, Utah, at the Sundance Film Festival right now (and if you're already there, I am insanely jealous of you). But luckily, my inbox has been flooded with lots of cool information straight out of the festival to keep me abreast of the goings on.

After perusing through tons of information regarding this year's slate of films, I've whittled the list down to the 14 I'm keeping my eye on as the months progress and the films open in more theaters. Look through the roster and share your thoughts in the comment box below.

THE BETTER ANGELS
SYNOPSIS: This is a story of the youth of one of America’s greatest heroes, Abraham Lincoln. Spanning nearly three years in the wilderness of Indiana, it tells of the hardships that shaped him, the tragedy that marked him forever and the two women who guided him to immortality.
CAST: Diane Kruger, Jason Clarke, Brit Marling, West Bentley
DIRECTOR/WRITER: A.J. Edwards

IMPERIAL DREAMS
SYNOPSIS: A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
CAST: John Boyega, Keke Palmer, Glenn Plummer, Rotimi
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Malik Vitthal/Ismet Prcic, Malik Vitthal

LISTEN UP PHILLIP
SYNOPSIS: Anger rages in Philip as he awaits the publication of his second novel. He feels pushed out of his adopted home city by the constant crowds and noise, a deteriorating relationship with his photographer girlfriend Ashley, and his own indifference to promoting the novel. When Philip's idol Ike Zimmerman offers his isolated summer home as a refuge, he finally gets the peace and quiet to focus on his favorite subject: himself.
CAST: Krysten Ritter, Elisabeth Moss, Jason Schwartzman
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Alex Ross Perry

WAR STORY
SYNOPSIS: A war photographer (Catherine Keener) retreats to a small town in Sicily after being held captive during the conflict in Libya.
CAST: Catherine Keener, Hafsia Herzi, Ben Kingsley
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Mark Jackson/Kristin Gore, Mark Jackson

I ORIGINS
SYNOPSIS: A molecular biologist and his lab partner uncover evidence that may fundamentally change society as we know it.
CAST: Michael Pitt, Brit Marling, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Steven Yeun, Archie Panjabi
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Mike Cahill

LITTLE ACCIDENTS
SYNOPSIS: In a small American coal town, the disappearance of a 14 year-old boy draws a surviving miner, the lonely wife of mine executive, and a local boy together in a web of secrets.
CAST: M. Shane Abell, Elizabeth Banks, Grant Bauman
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Sara Colangelo

LOVE IS STRANGE
SYNOPSIS: A gay married couple in New York are forced to live apart.
CAST: Marisa Tomei, John Lithgow, Alfred Molina
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Ira Sachs/Ira Sachs, Mauricio Zacharias

RUDDERLESS
SYNOPSIS: A grieving father in a downward spiral stumbles across a box of his recently deceased son's demo tapes and lyrics. Shocked by the discovery of this unknown talent, he forms a band in the hope of finding some catharsis.
CAST: Billy Crudup, Selena Gomez, Jamie Chung, Anton Yelchin
DIRECTOR/WRITER: William H. Macy/Jeff Robison, Casey Twenter

WHITE BIRD IN A BLIZZARD
SYNOPSIS: A young woman's life is thrown into chaos when her mother disappears.
CAST: Shailene Woodley, Eva Green, Christopher Meloni, Angela Bassett, Gabourey Sidibe
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Gregg Araki

COLD IN JULY
SYNOPSIS: In 1980s East Texas, two fathers pitted against each other in revenge must band together to uncover a darker truth.
CAST: Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Vinessa Shaw
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Jim Mickle/Nick Damici

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE
SYNOPSIS: At prestigious Winchester University, biracial student Samantha White begins her radio show, "Dear White People, the amount of black friends required not to seem racist has just been raised to two. Sorry, your weed man, Tyrone, doesn't count." Sam becomes president of the all-black residential hall Parker/Armstrong, whose existence is facing extinction in the name of diversification. TV reality show "Black Face/White Place" smells gold in Sam's story and decides to follow it, rejecting the proposal of fellow black student Coco Conners, who pitched her show "Doing Time at an Ivy League". The clamor over Sam's rise also becomes a career-defining opportunity for black misfit Lionel Higgins when he is asked to join the school's lily-white newspaper staff to cover the controversy, even though he secretly knows little about black culture.
CAST: Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Teyonah Parris 
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Justin Simien

HELLION
SYNOPSIS: When motocross and heavy metal obsessed, thirteen-year-old, Jacob's increasing delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother, Wes, with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father, Hollis, must finally take responsibility for their actions and for each other in order to bring Wes home.
CAST: Aaron Paul, Juliette Lewis, Tanner Beard
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Kat Candler

LOW DOWN
SYNOPSIS: A look at the life of pianist Joe Albany from the perspective of his young daughter, as she watches him contend with his drug addiction during the 1960s and '70s jazz scene.
CAST: Lena Headey, Taryn Manning, Peter Dinklage, Elle Fanning
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Jeff Preiss/Topper Lilien, Amy Albany

KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER

SYNOPSIS: A lonely Japanese woman becomes convinced that a satchel of money buried and lost in a fictional film, is in fact, real. With a crudely drawn treasure map and limited preparation, she escapes her structured life in Tokyo and embarks on a foolhardy quest across the frozen tundra of Minnesota in search of her mythical fortune.

CAST: Rinko Kikuchi, Nobuyuki Katsube, Shirley Venard

DIRECTOR/WRITER: David Zellner/David Zellner, Nathan Zellner