This year has been an inspiring one at Sundance up in Park City, UT. I’ve seen so many really great independent films that they’ve made me want to raise the bar in the work that I do.

Of course independent is a relative term here–some “independent” films have multimillion dollar budgets while the films I usually work on are dealing with several thousand (if we’re lucky).

I’ve gotten this strong feeling inside me that I need to write a screenplay for a feature film. I started jotting down some notes when I was waiting in line for a film the other day. I think I have a kernel that could pop into something if I keep the heat on it.

Here’s a list of the films I’ve seen while I’ve been here:

• Filly Brown – SO well done. I loved the story, the music, and the whole cast.
• Young & Wild – This was excellent. It was great to see a film like this through a female perspective and lens.
• LUV – I thought a film with so many Hollywood heavy-hitters would feel too Hollywood, but it definitely maintained the indie feel that I love. Excellent story.
• Safety Not Guaranteed – Very sweet film. With such famously sarcastic leads, this movie managed to be completely sincere and lovely.
• Monsieur Lazhar – Nominated for an Oscar. Really well done.
• Oslo, August 31st – Depressing as hell, but beautiful acted and filmed.
• Keep the Lights On – Well acted, but also quite a downer.
• Shut Up and Play the Hits – Bittersweet. The film made me love its subject (LCD Soundsystem), but the film was about the end of the band. So yeah.
• Black Rock – A horror film from a female perspective. Loved it!

The best party I went to during Sundance was the Drake concert. I won all access passes to the show and holy crap, it was amazing. I’m a fan of his music anyway, but the atmosphere was so fun and intimate.

I was able to take my little brother with me so we had an amazing time at the show. Movie and television stars were everywhere that night–I’d say it definitely lived up to the Sundance Hollywood party ideal.

I was lucky enough to go skiing my last day in Park City and it was the perfect day for it. 5 new inches of powder and completely bluebird (blue skies, bright sun). I went pretty hard for five hours and just wrecked my body (in a good way). It was so excellent that it would’ve been hard to leave except that my legs felt like jelly.