Look out Park City – next year’s Sundance Film Festival might be including more guests than just the Kutchers and Hiltons of the movie world.

Scripts have been collected and are being reviewed for Buckeye Searchlight, the screen-writing competition and independent film project hosted by the Ohio State Film and Video Society.

OSU students-creators Nate Hahn and Mark Laivins are watching their idea blossom into a production company with support from the university and city and – hopefully – a future bid to present their film to thousands of independent film enthusiasts.

“Sundance is the ultimate goal – we would have a chance to be the youngest group ever to get into the festival,” Hahn said. “If nothing else, it will be seen all over the Columbus area, and entered into every independent film festival we can find.”

But before the finished product can hit the silver screen, many tasks remain including the selection of the winning script.

“We have been reading about one script a day on average,” said John Witmer, the project’s director of photography. “We’ve seen some definite potential with the scripts, and some really talented writers.”

Witmer, a senior in film studies and motion picture production, has been busy preparing for the start of filming by studying lighting and camera techniques in past and present films.

“It is great to know what else is being done, what has been done and the reason for the use of these techniques,” he said.

Besides script selection, the Searchlight team has been bracing for an anticipated increase in the size of the team following the upcoming campus-wide crew call. The group has planned a meeting for all who are interested at 7 p.m. Thursday in Roy Bowen Theater.

“Right now, by doing this we have found a way to incorporate pretty much a student with any major into this project,” Hahn said. “We want to gather people interested in film production to get involved with Buckeye Searchlight as it will be a full-on movie-making experience.”

Those interested in all aspects of film development can begin to help on other OSU Film and Video Society productions including the sit-com “Kollege,” and “OSU Late Night with Tommy Smiley,” Hahn said. These two shows, in which students receive class credit, will help the production crew to develop their skills and gain experience before taking on the larger task of being involved with a full-length independent film.

Amira Soliman, an international studies major and the project’s production coordinator, said she is excited to see the support from the university and the city and has busied herself scouting locations for the film’s shoot, which will occur in the latter half of August.

Another location, known as the premiere showcase for independent film in Park City, Utah, is also being scouted in Columbus.

After Hahn and eight other film students attended the 2004 Sundance Festival,they could not help being excited about the idea of showing up next year not as spectators – but as filmmakers.