The Sundance Film Festival, a ten-day film exhibition for new and upcoming film directors, reached its conclusion on Jan. 29 in Park City, Utah.

 The festival began on Jan. 19 and hosted over 200 independent films including “Middle of Nowhere,” directed by Ava DuVernay, and “Safety Not Guaranteed,” produced by Derek Connolly.

 Benh Zeitlin’s film, “Beasts of the Wild,” went home with the grand jury prize in the U.S. dramatic competition. The film is an inspirational story about a girl and her father struggling to survive on the Southern Delta. When accepting the award, Zeitlin said, “I hope this film is just like a flag that goes up.”

 Another film that took home a prestigious award was the U.S. documentary grand jury prizewinner “The House I Live In.” Directed by Eugene Jarecki, the film illustrates the war on drugs in America and the U.S. penal system.

 The audience prizewinners were Ben Lewis for his film about sex and disability, “The Surrogate,” and Kirby Dick’s creation, “The Invisible War,” a film about the undercover dilemma of rape in the military.

 While highlighting the talent of upcoming filmmakers, the Sundance award ceremony also included a small tribute to Bingham Ray, an advocate for independent film making, who died due to a stroke during the festival.

 Over 50,000 people attended the screening of the independent films located in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Festival attendees were able to discover new filmmakers as well as experience musical performances, panel discussions with established filmmakers and parties celebrating the film community.

 Along with the 50,000 people was communication arts lecturer Michelle Groover. She was able to go to Park City, Utah and view several of the films that were premiering.

 “Over the course of the week I watched 13 movies and documentaries. Many of the films I watched had been picked up by major movie studios including ‘The Words,’ ‘Safety Not Guaranteed,’ and ‘Middle of Nowhere,’” Groover said.

 After the films were shown, several of the directors and producers stayed and answered questions from the audience regarding their movies.

 “Immediately following the majority of the films and documentaries, the director or directors and often others involved in the making of the film, were available for a question and answer session,” Groover said. “Many times viewers would ask the director what they should ‘take away’ from a particular film, in many cases, endings are left to the interpretation of the viewer and the director would point this out.”

 With so many people enjoying the festivities, it can be a difficult to get around. The Sundance Film Festival was staffed with volunteers that worked to ensure each patron was able to travel smoothly from place to place.

“The festival was very well organized and the free shuttles allowed visitors to get from venue to venue,” Groover said. “In my opinion, the volunteers did an outstanding job of helping visitors find seats in the venues and answer questions. Additionally, the volunteers handled unhappy patrons in a very pleasant manner. If given the opportunity, I would attend the Sundance Film Festival again next year.”

 The annual Sundance Film Festival has continued to impress fans of independent film all over the nation. By portraying their ideas through film, these independent directors are the reason why the film industry is greatly applauded.