/ 4 December 2012

Steve Jobs biopic featuring in upcoming Sundance Festival

Apple founder Steve Jobs is the subject of jOBS
Apple founder Steve Jobs is the subject of jOBS

Joshua Michael Stern's drama will span three decades of the entrepreneur's life and is described as "a candid, inspiring and personal portrait of the one who saw things differently" on the Sundance website.

The festival has also released the first still from the film, which shows Kutcher in character as the Apple co-founder at work.

A 1977 Apple II computer sits in the background, near a poster that reads "Think" – presumably a nod to Apple's "Think different" advertising campaign of the late 1990s.

jOBS is one of a clutch of high-profile releases added to the lineup announced last week. Among the films joining it in Park City, Utah, will be Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut, Don Jon's Addiction – about a selfish scoundrel's attempt to reinvent himself; The Look of Love, Michael Winterbottom's take on the life of adult magazine publisher Paul Raymond; and Before Midnight, Richard Linklater's third date with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpry as city-hopping will-they-won't-they romancers Jesse and Céline.

Other films expected to premiere are Park Chan-wook's thriller Stoker; Lovelace – an account of the life of porn star Linda "Deep Throat" Lovelace; and Breathe In, a new drama from Like Crazy director Drake Doremus. Lucy Walker's The Crash Reel, about snowboarding star Kevin Pearce's return from a serious brain injury, and Which Way Is the Front Line from Here?, Sebastian Junger's account of the life of war photographer Tim Hetherington – killed on assignment in Libya last year – feature in the documentary category.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl's Sound City – about the musicians and producers who worked at the acclaimed music studio – and We Steal Secrets, Alex Gibney's take on the disruptive power of WikiLeaks, will also appear.

Trevor Groth, director of programming for the Sundance film festival, said that the newly announced films "offer compelling portraits of worlds and people ranging from the beloved to the misunderstood to the unknown", adding that his programme will "have the power to delight audiences at the festival and impact our culture at large".

The 2013 Sundance film festival will run from January 17 to 27. – guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2012