I am sitting in a ballroom listening to the top writers of Heroes, The Office and Everybody Loves Raymond talk about how to write a successful television script. An hour later, I am in a room with the director of Wet Hot American Summer and Role Models, taking notes on how to write and direct a comedy film. The next night I might be sitting at a party with the writer of all three Pirates of the Caribbean films. Later that evening I could go to the premiere of W. and meet James Cromwell, who plays Bush Senior.

Such is life at the Austin Film Festival, which took place Oct. 16 through Oct. 23 in Austin, Texas.

I had never attended a film festival before I went to the AFF during fall break, and I have to say, “I’m hooked.” I came into the experience knowing little about how a film festival was run or what I would be doing from 9 a.m. until midnight every day, and I have to say, it was definitely a daunting prospect. Most of the other attendees had movies playing in the festival, were involved in the industry, or had been attending the AFF for many years. Despite this potentially overwhelming situation, I buried my nervousness, put on my sociable hat and ended up having the time of my life.

Here’s a breakdown of what a day was like at the AFF. You show up for panels around 9 a.m., which are groups or individual speakers who speak about a specific genre or subject. You could go to a panel on the proper way to pitch a script, how to write an action-thriller, or how to go about getting an agent or a manager in Hollywood. The variety of panels offered is a double-edged sword. You have a great selection to cater to your individual interests, but it also means that you must choose wisely and sometimes sacrifice one panel for another happening at the same time. The panels last until around 4 p.m..

Actual film screenings start around 1 p.m. Most of the films in the festival are independently made. This means that investors who are not financially backed by a major studio have put up the money for the film to be produced. Almost all of these films are screening at the festival in the hope that they’ll be seen by the right person, purchased and subsequently distributed nationally.

Because of this, there is an ungodly amount of promoting that occurs at every event of the festival by the people trying to sell their movie. I came home with several dozen fliers, more than a few posters, at least 20 matchbooks and a wallet full of business cards, all of which promoted a person’s film, editing business or production studio.

Attendees have the opportunity to view many types of films, including comedy, horror, short films and documentaries. Most theaters will show films until around midnight, but I generally left before the 10 p.m. showings so I could get ready for the nightly parties. Going out to the parties just to grab a drink isn’t necessary, though, as almost every panel and theater had a full bar.

The nightly events are the opening night party, the closing night party and the pitch finale party. The first two are fairly self-explanatory, but the third is much more interesting. The pitch finale party is the culmination of the four-day long competition in which amateurs pitch their script ideas to industry professionals and get valuable critiques and feedback. Many of these people who pitch are approached by members of the industry for meetings and occasionally sell scripts or get jobs because of the competition.

I met several celebrities, including “the waitress” from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, David Wain, who directed Wet Hot American Summer and Role Models, and Toby from The Office. I also saw James Cromwell of Babe fame, Seann William Scott, who played Stifler in American Pie, and Jane Lynch, who was the electronics store owner in The 40 Year Old Virgin.

I had the opportunity to screen W. and Max Payne the night before their wide release, and Role Models before its release this Friday. The best movie I saw at the AFF was, by far, one called Visioneers. It stars Zach Galifianakis, and is one of the funniest and most touching movies I have seen in a very long time.

So, if you’re interested in the movie industry or are just a fan of films, you should consider attending next year’s Austin Film Festival. The people you’ll meet there are helpful, talented and incredibly interesting.And the fact that Austin has more bars per square block than any other city I have ever been to doesn’t hurt, either.

Check out www.austinfilmfestival.com for more information on next year’s festival.