'Scarfies' at Sundance

Dunedin film-maker Robert Sarkies has received the perfect Christmas present - an invitation to the prestigious Sundance Film Festival next month for his movie Scarfies.

The film, a black comedy about five Dunedin university students who find a marijuana plantation in their basement, is one of 28 movies selected for the Robert Redford-founded festival.

Sundance, held annually at Park City near Salt Lake City, Utah, has a reputation for kick-starting film-makers' careers. Shine and The Blair Witch Project are among films which have been launched at the festival.

Scarfies grossed more than $1.2 million at the New Zealand box office and has been sold to Iceland, Ger-many, Spain, Holland, Poland, Taiwan and France. - NZPA