It's that time of year again - no, not the buildup to Christmas - when the Sundance Film Festival starts to announce the films that have made the cut to be screened in the chilly cinemas of Park City.

Next year's event will happen between January 21-31 and now we know at least a selection of films that will screen in the US and world documentary and dramatic competitions.

Among the docs are looks at the Jack Abramoff fraud scandal that rocked the US this year (Casino Jack & The United States Of Money), Restrepo, which saw Perfect Storm novelist Sebastian Junger and journalist Tim Hetherington dug in with US troops fighting in Afghanistan and Bhutto, which convinces the life of assassinated former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Suffice to say, there's not a load of knockabout comedy on display here.

Over in drama, there's a little more lighthearted material, including Douchebag, which sees a brother about to get married take his younger sibling on a mission to locate the lad's former girlfriend.

Howl is one of the starrier entries, a nonfiction piece about poet Allen Ginsberg first getting into his talent with Jon Hamm, James Franco, David Strathairn and Jeff Daniels all starring.

And we're intrigued by happythankyoumoreplease, which is directed by Josh Radnor, better known as Ted from US sitcom How I Met Your Mother and features Malin Akerman, Kate Mara and Tony Hale.

The full list is far too long to print here, but you can find all the details over at the main Sundance page. And rest assured Empire will be there, braving chilblains to bring you all the coverage you need...