I attended the Citizen Jane Film Festival for the first time last year. I was in a class where we learned how to write art reviews and had been assigned to cover the film Cooked, by documentarian Judith Helfand, for Vox. Even as a woman, I was intimidated by the festival because the intense aura of girl power surrounding it. I thought it was going to be hours of women patting themselves on the back for being women and making films.

What I found was the completely different.

I walked into Uprise early in the morning, about an hour before my film, to get a feel for the atmosphere. Smiling volunteers selling tickets and T-shirts greeted me and were enthusiastic about selling me an “Insane Jane” festival pass to see all the movies. Other movie-goers were just as excited, but a bit more mellow. They chatted with each other and loaded up on breakfast pastries from the bakery.

Once inside the Ragtag theater, I noticed I was one of the youngest people there. The movie had attracted a varied crowd: other singles like myself, a few couples, young people, older people, women and men.

When Judith Helfand, the filmmaker, introduced the film, I panicked. Cooked was not a finished film. It was a work in progress.  How was I supposed to review a movie that consisted of a trailer and only two finished scenes?

As it turned out, Helfand was using her Citizen Jane audience as a test group. We watched her scenes and asked questions to learn where she wanted to take the film. She asked for our feedback and we willingly gave it. It was such an innovative movie, looking into how our country defines “disaster” in terms of the Chicago heat wave of 1995 that killed hundreds of people. The informal panel that followed the movie turned into more of a discussion among complete strangers. Helfand wrote down our suggestions and we all left feeling as if we’d actually made an impact on the movie.

After the showing and discussion, I wrote a review of the experience, not just the movie. I told readers that Cooked is a film to watch for in the future because I enjoyed the unfinished part so much.

I encourage every movie buff to go to Citizen Jane this weekend. The festival is about films, not women. Yes, the pieces have all been directed, filmed or produced by women, but the organizers showcase the work more than the workers. Do not be intimidated, like I was, because I was so pleasantly surprised.
My advice:

• Show up early and enjoy the pre-movie chatter. Mingle with other people there to see the movie as well as organizers and filmmakers. Citizen Jane has a very friendly atmosphere.
• Don’t be afraid to go alone. Yes, going with friends is fun, but going to movies alone is great too. I talked to a lot of strangers and not just because I’m a journalist.
• Go to a showing with a panel. This is the best way to get all your questions answered and maybe even have input on a film.
• Finally, don’t forget that you have to feed the meters downtown on Saturdays too. I forgot last year and walked out of Ragtag to find a bright yellow parking ticket on my windshield.