Stonington - Every year about 9,000 films are submitted to the organizers of the famed Sundance Film Festival, but just a few hundred of them are shown during the 10-day event.

Now, a local couple hope to convince some of the filmmakers not chosen to submit their entries to the first Mystic Independent Film Festival, an event they hope to stage late next year.

The film festival is just a small part of the plan that William Gash and Casey Cyr Gash have for their Mystic Independent Theater, which is set to open Thanksgiving weekend in the Quiambaug Cove Professional Suites at the intersection of Wilcox Road and Route 1.

The intimate 46-seat theater, which had been home to the now-defunct Stonington Film Society, has been renovated and will not only show independent films but host music and drama presentations, family celebrations, birthday parties, business meetings and other events.

It is all part of the couple's diversified plan to ensure the economic success of the theater, which features tiered seats, a raised stage, adjustable lighting and top-quality video and sound systems.

"There not really an independent theater in the area that shows strictly independent films," Cyr Gash said.

She said she and her husband plan to go to film festivals and look for movies to show.

"A lot of them never get seen by anyone. There's a huge market for beautiful films that people have devoted their lives to that never have been seen," she said. "We want to show some of them."

Cyr Gash said they will not only be looking for local filmmakers to enter their works for the festival but possibly lend their expertise when it comes to screening and selecting films.

William Gash and his two partners bought and renovated the building five years ago. Today, it is home to 12 businesses, including an engineer, attorney, yoga studio and wellness center, that employ 35 people.

"We thought it was a shame, though, to let the theater go it disrepair," Cyr Gash said, so they decided to make the renovations and reopen it.

While she said there are a lot of reasons why independent theaters have failed across the country, she said Mystic Independent Theater will seek out films from small boutique distributors that will not cost as much.

She said that using the theater space for a range of events in addition to films is also designed to ensure its success. She said she'd also like people to suggest what events they would like to see at the theater.

"We have to see how it works out. We can't lose money but if we break even for a while that will be OK," she said. "But eventually we will have to make money."

Cyr Gash said the theater will typically charge $10 a ticket for adults and $8 for students to see a film. She said it especially wants to reach out to students and will stage a young filmmakers festival in 2010.

The theater's grand opening will be Friday, Nov. 27, with free performances for children of "Linda Lee's Laughs on Us" a program with a clown and magician at noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

The independent documentary film: "In Search of Memory" about the work of Nobel Prize winner neuroscientist Eric Kandel, will be shown Nov. 28, 29 and 30. More information about the theater and film festival is available at www.mysticindietheater.com.

j.wojtas@theday.com