The lineup of films competing in the 2011 Sundance Film Festival is heavy on off-the-wall stories, light on war documentaries and -- for better or worse -- nearly devoid of one of the festival's signature ingredients of late: stars. As both a pre-eminent showcase for American independent cinema and a freewheeling bazaar for movie executives, Sundance is carefully scrutinized for signals about where creative, low-budget movies are headed. If these filmmakers represent the future, what's on their minds? Sundance programmers on Wednesday announced a schedule of 58 features and documentaries in competition, culled from 3,812 submissions, that answers that question with more clarity than usual. 'We certainly do not intend to create themes,' said John Cooper, the festival's director. 'But there does seem to be some similar things that are permeating the minds of artists today.' Most noticeable among the competing films is a lack of movie stars, who have flocked to independent film over the last decade in search of meatier roles, a patina of hipness and Oscar statuettes. Last year's competition slate included the usual parade of fame in multiple pictures: Natalie Portman, James Franco, Michelle Williams, Orlando Bloom, James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart. This year, only one entry, 'The Loved Ones,' has the slightest whiff of mainstream star power. Featuring Demi Moore and a clutch of indie favorites -- Ellen Burstyn, Ellen Barkin, Thomas Haden Church -- 'The Loved Ones' centers on a chaotic wedding thrown by a highly dysfunctional family. Where have all the stars gone? It could be a passing illusion: Sundance's slate of films out of competition, which will be announced on Thursday, will undoubtedly be stuffed with them. Maybe programmers just didn't think some star-driven pictures were up to snuff. 'For whatever reason, there aren't as many big stars doing an independent turn as in past years, and that's perfectly fine with us,' said Cooper, nodding to criticism in years past that Sundance was too hung up on marquee names. The festival is scheduled Jan. 20 to Jan. 30 in Park City, Utah. On Thursday Sundance will unveil its features out of competition. Feature-length submissions from the United States totaled 1,943 -- a slight increase from last year -- while foreign feature-length submissions inched up to 1,869. Overall, total submissions crossed the 10,000 mark for the first time; to compare, the festival received about 7,000 submissions in 2006, a year when independent film was considered to be in full bloom. The physical strain of screening all of those submissions, festival staffers say, pales in comparison to the aggressive push by agents, investors and some directors to sway the selection process. 'To remain independent these days,' Cooper said, 'takes relentless vigilance.' 