Indie Films We Look Forward To Seeing in 2013

2012 was a great year for independent films. It brought us magnificent films such as Beasts of the Southern Wild, Sleepwalk With Me, The Sessions, and Middle of Nowhere. But as 2013 begins and Sundance approaches, it's time to look forward to what's coming this year. Here are some of the highlights:

"12 Years a Slave"

Director: Steve McQueen
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Paul Dano
Distributor: None yet
Release Date: None yet, but it will likely surface at Cannes

"Admission"
Director: Paul Weitz
Cast: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Nat Wolff
Distributor: Focus Features
Release Date: March 8

"August: Osage County"
Director: John Wells
Cast: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Juliette Lewis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Abigail Breslin, Chris Cooper, Sam Shepard, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson
Distributor: The Weinstein Company
Release Date: TBA, but surely in a prime awards season slot late in the year

"Before Midnight"
Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
Distributor: None, but that will change very soon

Release Date: Premiering at Sundance this month, no theatrical date has been set

"The Bling Ring"
Director: Sofia Coppola
Cast: Leslie Mann, Emma Watson and Taissa Farmiga
Distributor: None yet
Release Date: Sometime this summer should it find a distributor.

"The Butler"
Director: Lee Daniels
Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Alan Rickman, John Cusack, Robin Williams, James Marsden, Liev Schreiber, Forest Whitaker, David Oyelowo, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Jesse Williams, Melissa Leo, Mariah Carrey and Oprah Winfrey
Distributor: The Weinstein Company
Release Date: sometime in the fall probably

"Dallas Buyers Club"
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Steve Zahn, Dallas Roberts
Distributor: None yet.
Release Date: TBA

"Frances Ha"
Director: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, Michael Zegen and Patrick Heusinger
Distributor: IFC Films
Release Date: May 17

"I'm So Excited"
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Cast: Javier Cámara, Cecilia Roth, Lola Dueñas, Raúl Arévalo, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Suárez, Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Paz Vega
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: March 8th in Spain. US audiences will have to wait until November

"Inside Llewyn Davis"
Director: Ethan & Joel Coen
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Adam Driver, Garrett Hedlund, Oscar Isaac, Alex Karpovsky
Distributor: none yet
Release Date: none yet

"Lovelace"
Director: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, Bobby Canavale, Chris Noth, Adam Brody, Demi Moore, Eric Roberts, Robert Patrick, Wes Bentley, Sharon Stone and Juno Temple
Distributor: Millenium Films
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance 

"Mud"
Director: Jeff Nichols
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon and Michael Shannon
Distributor: Lionsgate/Roadside
Release date: None yet but Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions plan to release it this year.

"Map to the Stars"
Director: David Cronenberg
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Rachel Weisz, Robert Pattinson
Distributor: None as of yet.
Release Date: Very likely to premiere in Cannes or Venice or Toronto, with a deal and release date to follow.

"No"
Director: Pablo Larraîn
Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Release date: February

"Nymphomaniac"
Director: Lars von Trier
Cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Connie Nielsen, Willem Dafoe, Uma Thurman, Charlotte Rampling
Distributor: none yet
Release Date: May 30 overseas; no U.S. date

"Only God Forgives"
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm and Yaya Ying
Distributor: Radius
Release Date: Not yet announced.

"The Place Beyond the Pines"
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes and Rose Byrne.
Distributor: Focus Features
Release Date: March 29

"Queen of the Desert"
Director: Werner Herzog
Cast: Naomi Watts, Robert Pattinson, Jude Law
Distributor: N/A
Release date: Nothing yet.