Russia's 'Mermaid' to compete at Sundance

MOSCOW, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Russia's romantic drama "The Mermaid" has been selected to compete at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

Written and directed by Anna Melikyan, "The Mermaid" is a follow-up to the filmmaker's acclaimed debut "Mars."

Starring Masha Shalaeva, Evgeny Tsigankov, Maria Sokolova, Nastya Dontsova, Irina Skrinichenko and Veronika Skugina, "The Mermaid" will compete in the dramatic competition section, representatives for the movie said.

"We are proud to represent Russia at the premier showcase of independent filmmakers," Melikyan said in a statement. "Russian film was selected only once before, but in this case we had an overwhelming competition."