Office's John Krasinski Moonlights as Sundance Kid

Actor's writing-directing debut will have world premiere, compete at 2009 Sundance Film Festival, Jan. 15-25, in Park City, Utah

Romancing Pam hasn't been the only activity keeping Jim busy after hours.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, the writing-directing debut of The Office star John Krasinski, has been announced as one of the 64 films screening in competition next month at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

The dark comedy about a scorned anthropology student's quest to figure out why her latest boyfriend dumped her, based on a book by the late David Foster Wallace, stars Krasinski, Timothy Hutton and Julianne Nicholson.

Like the rest of next year's competition lineup, Brief Interviews will have its world premiere at Sundance.

While the indie films competing for illustrious Grand Jury Prizes, Audience Awards and other honors in four categories (U.S. dramatic and documentary, world cinema drama and documentary) usually don't end up being as "crowd-pleasing" as your Iron Mans and Dark Knights, success on the festival circuit carries a certain distinction, and plenty come to Sundance hoping for future box-office glory in the guise of Juno and Little Miss Sunshine.

Plus, such smaller-scale productions give plenty of established stars and next-big-things the opportunity to really act.

Among those who will see their faces on one of the big screens in Park City, Utah, between Jan. 15 and Jan. 25:

• Chris Rock, appearing in the documentary Good Hair, an examination of the history of black hairstyles.

• Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon, in the incredibly sad-sounding drama The Greatest, about a couple dealing with the death of their teenage son.

• Paul Giamatti, Emily Watson and Lauren Ambrose, costarring in Cold Souls, about a Russian mobster trying to get his hands on the soul of an actor.

• Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham and Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist It girl Kat Dennings in Arlen Faber, about the intrusion of two strangers into the life of a reclusive famous writer.

• Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne in Adam, about a socially dysfunctional man's attempt to woo a new neighbor.

• Kevin Bacon, in the Marine Corp drama Taking Chance.

• Peter Sarsgaard, Emma Thompson and Alfred Molina, in the U.K. drama An Education, penned by Nick Hornby, in which a sophisticated older man gets tangled up in the lives of a 16-year-old girl and her parents (screening in the world cinema category).

Overall, the 25th Sundance Film Festival will offer up 118 feature-length films, including 91 world premieres. The clay-animation dramedy Mary and Max, featuring the voices of Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Collette, is set to open the fest Jan. 15.

The cinema extravaganza's complete schedule will be unveiled over the next few days.

(Originally published Dec. 3, 2008 at 4:27 p.m. PT)