PARK CITY, Utah (NEWSnet/AP) — The 40th edition of Sundance Film Festival, the world’s premier showcase for independent film, opens Thursday with a gala honoring festival veterans like Kristen Stewart and Christopher Nolan, and numerous world premieres.

The festival continues through Jan. 28.

Nineteen films are playing on day one, including documentaries about Brian Eno, Lollapalooza and Frida Kahlo, Yance Ford’s inquiry into policing in America, “Power,” as well as the mock government experiment “Girls State.” In fiction premieres, some lucky ticket-holders will be among the first to see Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s 1980s-set “Freaky Tales” or “Thelma,” featuring June Squibb as a grandmother who gets scammed and goes on a mission to get her money back.

The theatrical release calendar for the first half of the year was “decimated” by Hollywood strikes, producer Jason Blum noted at the opening day press conference. Around 80% of the 91 features playing do not yet have distributors.

“The one positive thing about the strike is a lot of movies that would have struggled probably shouldn’t,” Blum said. “I hope that a lot of Sundance movies end up in theaters quickly."

The main area of activity is in Park City, where many of the shops and restaurants on Main Street have been transformed into a hub of branded lounges from various sponsors and media partners.

Slightly outside of town Thursday, some of the festival’s most well-heeled attendees will gather at the DeJoria Center in Kamas, Utah, for an opening night gala in which Nolan, Stewart, and directors Celine Song and Maite Alberdi will receive tribute awards.

“Presenting ‘Memento’ at the Sundance Film Festival marked a pivotal moment in my career,” Nolan said in an earlier statement. “This award is a full circle moment and testament to the extraordinary influence of independent filmmaking.”

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