The Sundance Film Festival is well-known as the premiere event for U.S. independent film, but increasingly organizers have bulked up their world cinema slate. The gathering’s influence can now be felt around the world.

    This year, actor Diego Luna is one of the jurors that will pick top films, directors, writers, and cinematographers. The star of movies such as “Y Tu Mama Tambien” said that in his native Mexico the festival and its backer, Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute, have become increasingly important for getting filmmakers the exposure they need to raise money and develop their stories.

    “There are many writers who participate in the Sundance lab here or in Mexico City. Many scripts are developed in this lab which is really important for the Mexican industry. No one invests in writing,” he told reporters at a Friday news conference.

    “This is a very international film festival.  I have met most of my friends from Brazil and Argentina here. It is impressive that we had to travel north to get together,” he said. “In Latin America, there are lots of stories to be told. Young people aren’t waiting anymore. It’s a generational thing. … The amazing directors who are coming from my country, they are all less than 40 (years old). And there are many who are in their 20s.”

    But a problem in the United States is that many foreign language films often go overlooked because big budget Hollywood movies crowd them out of the marketplace.

(reporting by Mary Milliken, writing by Bob Tourtellotte)