When poring through some of the 4,042 feature films submitted to the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, festival director John Cooper felt hopeful.

"Artists seem to flourish in troubling times," Cooper said from the Sundance Institute’s Beverly Hills offices. "They get a little more aggressive in their creative energy."

Sundance unveiled the 58 films chosen for the four competition categories of the 2012 festival, a collection of dramatic films and documentaries that boast a subject range from the oddly comic to the seriously moving.

With the documentaries, programmers saw a trend of comprehensive films that tackled some big issues — particularly about the state of the economy.

"They were all working on these before ‘Occupy’ anything, before that became more of a public movement," Cooper said. "Everybody has this sense of dissatisfaction bubbling up."

Among the 16 films in the U.S. Dramatic competition — where much of the Hollywood attention lands — program director Trevor Groth saw a lot of comedies. "We always look for comedies, because it balances out all the heavier issues," Groth said.

But even the comedies aren’t always what they seem. One film, brazenly titled "The Comedy" is "one of the more complex films in there," Cooper said. "It’s really a social critique of our culture now."

"The Comedy" stars Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, creators of the bizarre Adult Swim show "Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job," and Cooper warns Tim & Eric fans that "The Comedy" won’t be what they might expect.

The four movies that will launch Sundance in Park City on Jan. 19 are: The comedy "Hello I Must Be Going," starring Melanie Lynskey ("Two and a Half Men") as a 35-year-old woman reluctantly moving back in with her parents; the documentary "The Queen of Versailles," about a couple’s attempt to build a massive mansion, until their timeshare empire falters; the Australian thriller "Wish You Were Here"; and a Danish/British documentary, "Searching for Sugar Man," about the rise, fall and rebirth of the ‘70s rock star known as Rodriguez.

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs Jan. 19-29 in Park City and at venues in Salt Lake City, Ogden and the Sundance resort.

Organizers are teasing out the announcement of festival titles. The Spotlight, Next, Park City at Midnight and Frontier programs will be unveiled Thursday afternoon; while the Premieres — where much of the festival’s star wattage shines — and the Documentary Premieres will be announced on Monday.

movies@sltrib.com

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Here are the 58 titles in the competition categories of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival:

U.S. Dramatic

Beasts of the Southern Wild » When her father falls ill, a six-year-old Bayou girl goes on a quixotic quest to find her long-lost mother. Directed by Benh Zeitlin, written by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar.