Coming off a year in which gay cowboy flick Brokeback Mountain met with resounding critical approval — how's four Golden Globes, including Best Drama and Best Screenplay? — if not substantive distribution outside of large metropolitan areas, LGBT filmmakers head to Sundance this year with a new, er, spring in their step, a raft of promising entries, and a mandate.

In addition, the Queer Lounge returns for its third year in a row, and, unlike many other Sundance lounges in effect, is actually open to the public. Hosting celebrity DJ gigs with John Cameron Mitchell and the saucy Shannyn Sossamon, who stars in this year's suicide dream Wristcutters: A Love Story, as well as a bunch of think panels featuring Gus Van Sant, Maria Maggenti, Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated), and Jennie Livingston (Paris is Burning), among others, the Queer Lounge will be in effect from Jan 20th - 28th. (The lounge also sets up shop at Toronto for the first time in September.)

According to the Queer Lounge's count there are 19 LGBT features on the Sundance roster this year, and that's not including shorts or what they've got slated over at Slamdance. But I'm just focusing here on the films that actually address out-and-out gay subject matter, so to speak, which leads me to this shortlist of LGBT films that may be worth getting all hot and bothered about:

All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise: The L Word's love boat episode comes to feature-length fruition, family-style, in this doc about Rosie and her partner Kelli's landmark cruise with LGBT families. But when the ship finally docks, its passengers meet with a rabid, homophobic crowd. Not being a Rosie fan, it's hard to whip up a frenzy about this one, but I heard she was awful in Fiddler on the Roof so I guess you never can tell.

small town gay bar: Now, this understated (you can tell by the no caps) little doc looks like something to get excited about — which is why I put it at No. 2 on my can't-freakin'-wait-to-see-it Top Ten. This dependable title needs little elucidation but you can read all about it and my other picks in this post.

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros: A 12-year-old street urchin living on the outskirts of Manila falls for a rookie cop who saves him from a beatdown, and his love leaves him torn between his outlaw family and law-abiding (or not) romance. The premise is so curious, I just can't think of anything funny to say about this one. Toss up!

The Night Listener: Robin Williams has always seemed most comfortable in drag or as a gay man, or at least that's when I find him most tolerable. But, come to think of it, he's also very good at playing creepy. Here, he gets to do both as an openly homosexual, late-night radio host who becomes obsessed with a young listener. With the always-outstanding Toni Collette supporting, this one has ample star power — stay tuned.

Wordplay: It's Spellbound for crosspuzzlers! This doc features an openly gay player and interviews with the Indigo Girls among others. Need we say more??

Mala Noche: Sundance resurrects gay filmmaker Gus Van Sant's very first film from the vault for a pair of screenings. Released in 1985, and shot on 16mm for only 25k, Mala Noche is about a convenience store manager who falls hard for a teenaged Mexican immigrant, who spurns his sexual advances but not his generosity. If only I'd gone to see this in the theater instead of Goonies way back when, who knows where I'd be now?

Kinky Boots: Likely not as kinky as you'd hope, and certainly not as twisted as Destricted, this is a down-at-the-heels turned upbeat movie about a fabulously booted drag queen who helps save a foundering shoe factory.

Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner: Mike Nichol's excellent film adaptation of Tony Kushner's epic play Angels in America, which heartbreakingly depicts the AIDS crisis in the mid-'80s, is de rigueur viewing for anyone in the LGBT community. Here, Freida Lee Mock tracks Kushner, from 9/11 through 2004, in this documentary that includes interviews and excerpted performances of his work.

Wild Tigers I Have Known: Thirteen-year-old Logan transforms himself into feminine alter-ego Leah in an attempt to try to win the affections of high school heartthrob Rodeo. I'm a sucker for a good title and this film looks sweet. Plus, the name Rodeo just sounds promising.

Puccini for Beginners: Elizabeth Reaser stars as a brooding lesbian who falls into lust first with a straight man (Justin Kirk, Angels in America) and then a straight woman (Gretchen Mol, The Notorious Bettie Page) in this screwball comedy by Maria Maggenti (The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love). Will this buck gender stereotypes with operatic panache? Or just be another installment in the cannon of half-assed gay films? Snack on this tidbit from the press notes and join me on the (bi)curious fence: "And just as she's drowning her sorrows in a giant slice of Camembert..."