Sami Kubo wasn't in class at Ballard High School last week. She was at the Sundance Film Festival.

Sami Kubo

The 17-year-old senior was one of a handful of students nationwide whose short films were featured in a festival screening sponsored by the Adobe Youth Voices initiative. That program collaborated with Reel Grrls Seattle, a non-profit program that teaches filmmaking to young women, to bring Kubo, three other students and two mentors to America's premiere independent film festival to see their work on the big screen.

Kubo worked as director of photography and animator on the festival-featured short, "Disorder." The film, about the mental struggles of a girl with a learning disorder, is posted below.

Yesterday Kubo talked about the movie, how cool it was to see it play at Sundance, her advice to fellow filmmakers-in-training and the celebs she spotted walking around Park City who -- surprise, surprise -- "look like everyone else." Read on for the Q&A.

What was it like to watch your short up on the screen with 200 people at Sundance?

I've seen my movie so many times from working on it so many times.... Watching my films, sometimes I cringe at parts that didn't turn out the way I'd like ... I feel very inspired by the parts I did well, with hard work. It's always fun to see the audience respond to certain things.

So how'd you get into film production?

I've been painting and drawing all my life. For a while, I wanted to be a painter, I was more into the fine arts. Then through a school video program (Ballard High's video production program) I saw some things made by students that just really inspired me. I started taking classes my sophomore year. I've been studying video production for two and a half years.

Sundance is a pretty big deal. What did you think of the festival?

I loved it. I was a little apprehensive at first. I didn't know what it was going to be like. I didn't want to have too high expectations. Everything blew me away, kind of. It was so nice to have a more personal experience with the actual directors and the cast and crew, and they were all there.

OK ... What celebrities did you see?

It's interesting. They look like everyone else. I did see Quentin Tarantino, P Diddy. Brett Simon I met -- he's one of my favorite directors.

You've directed, written, animated and written music for your student films. What role do you want to take on in your career?

I would say director, though I actually wouldn't be able to decide since I love all aspects of film. I like to direct the actors and have a lot of creative input on the film, and I really like writing, that's kind of my core passion.

I think film is the ideal way to tell stories. With drawing, I can get one frame of a story. With film it's a million frames. It's like the ultimate medium to me. It includes all kinds of art -- like music, visuals, lighting, sounds, and action, acting ... it's just got everything in it.

What's next for you?

There's two films I'm working on right now. One is a ghost story, a visual narrative. There's no dialogue, and it happens in a haunted elevator. I just finished production and a little bit of post production on that one. The other one is a film with Reel Grrls. It's a mockumentary using the metaphor of vampires if they were living in current society.

Who are your biggest role models in the movie biz?

I really like Julie Taymor. She's one of the first big female directors who's had a couple films premiere worldwide. I really like her style, especially with Frida. Her films really influenced me a lot more than other things. Another favorite is Alfred Hitchcock. He likes to tell his films through visuals and action and not through dialogue.

What were your favorite festival films?

Assassination of a High School President by Brett Simon. It's kind of a modern noir satire set in a private Catholic high school context. It's really hilarious, so I think young people would really appreciate that film. "Phoebe in Wonderland" had great cinematography and it had a really nice story that young people related to.

How has being involved in Reel Grrls and video production at your school helped you out?

For a while I felt like I could never really be a filmmaker. I was really discouraged at one point, because it was so dominated by men. For a while I kind of just quit, then I learned about Reel Grrls. I still think there's a lot of sexism issues in the industry, but I'm a lot more confident going into it.

I feel like I've definitely got a leg up. It's kind of surreal, through Reeal Grrls I've done a lot of traveling and had a lot of opportunities like this. Without them I don't know where I would be.

What would you say to other people your age or younger who want to get into film?

If you're going to go into film, don't do it to make money or to be famous or to be rich or to for superficial reasons. Do it because you enjoy making films and you enjoy doing it for yourself as an art. If you have the mentality of only wanting to be rich and famous, you'll be shot down so many times.

Don't ever ever hesitate to take up an opportunity, whether it be traveling or just working with people. And don't be shy.

Kubo has applied to film programs at New York University, Emerson College and Columbia College (Chicago) but wants to take a year off for travel and internships. Another of the films she's worked on, "Tile 'M' for Murder," was selected to be part of Teen Screen at the Northwest Film Center. Check out the Reel Grrls YouTube page for more videos by young Seattle women.