Sundance 2012 has officially begun.

On Thursday, Sundance found Robert Redford was joined by executive director Keri Putnam and programmer John Cooper at the legendary Egyptian Theater, where they held a news conference.

We can start with the hard times we're living in . . . but the happy thing is that here, for this week, we're going to see work from artists, even though their work might be reflective of these hard times, there is no paralysis here, Redford told the crowd of journalists.

As previously announced, this year's Sundance will feature more than 110 films spread across four cities.

Redford's comment on Thursday refers to the majority of films that feature themes of the economy, marriage and family.

Blythe Danner, Melanie Lynskey, Sara Chase and filmmaker Todd Louiso were among the first celebrities to arrive for day one of the film festival.

Michael Cera, Amanda Seyfried, Lou Diamond Phillips, Sean Penn, Kate Bosworth and John Krasinski are expected to arrive in the next few days.

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is scheduled to run from Jan. 19 to 29.

Scroll down for highlights from Day One.