The Sundance Film Festival highlighting independent films, begins today. Among them are a number of adaptations. LitHub provides a complete rundown but keep an eye out for four in particular, each based on a well-known title:

Before I Fall, based on Lauren Oliver’s 2010 bestselling and critically praised YA novel about a teen who relives the last day of her life over and over again, is already scheduled to open in theaters on March 3, starring Zoey Deutch.

A tie-in was released yesterday: Before I Fall Movie Tie-in Edition, Lauren Oliver (HarperCollins; HarperAudio; OverDrive Sample).

The Sundance trailer was also released today and featured on Entertainment Weekly:’s web site.

The film adaptation of Hillary Jordan’s Mudbound (Workman/Algonquin; OverDrive Sample) also premieres at Sundance. Variety says it is one of the “must sees” of the festival and predicts it will be picked up for distribution:

“The adaptation of Hillary Jordan’s novel focuses on a black and white family living and working together in the segregated South. Some agents and studio executives believe it will launch writer-director Dee Rees (Bessie) onto the A-list and could score her a trip to the Oscars.”

Variety also includes Yellow Birds in their listing of top picks, saying:

“The boatload of rising actors headlining this film has caught studios’ attention — Sheridan is on the cusp of big screen stardom in Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One and Ehrenreich was just tapped to play a young Han Solo in the
next Star Wars spinoff. Plus it’s got
serious literary pedigree.”

Tye Sheridan, Jack Huston, Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Patric, Toni Collette, and Jennifer Aniston star. The book it is based on, The Yellow Birds (Hachette/Little, Brown; OverDrive Sample) by Kevin Powers was a finalist for the National Book Award and a best seller. It won a PEN Award.

Daniel Clowes’s 2010 graphic novel Wilson  has been adapted as a film starring Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern, and Judy Greer. It is set for distribution. to arrive in theaters on March 24.

The Independent says it is a film to “watch out for,” writing “director Craig Johnson display[s] a knack for finding humor and warmth in the darkest of places.”

A new trade paperback edition arrives on Feb. 7, 2017, published by Drawn and Quarterly. A trailer has been released.

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