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Holly Hunter (left) stars in “Thirteen,” a film directed by UCLA film school alumna Catherine Hardwicke.

UCLA alumna Catherine Hardwicke says that her UCLA experience is the gift that keeps on giving. Without a little help from her friends, she couldn’t have made her directorial debut, a film that cost less than $2 million.

Hardwicke’s film, “Thirteen,” starring Holly Hunter, is screening in the prestigious dramatic feature film competition at the Sundance Film Festival.

As writer and director, the former UCLA film graduate student wrote this project with a 13-year-old family friend who shares the screenwriting credits with her, making this project co-written by one of the youngest credited film writers in history. Inspired by the difficult times of the young girl, the movie mirrors a very real experience.

“She was going through a very difficult time, hating her mother, her father, life, becoming obsessed with fashion,” Hardwicke said. “She had made a quick switch from good girl to bad girl.”

The film explores this transformation. The script motivated UCLA film and television professor Nancy Richardson to join on to the project.

“The story just rang true, and as it turned out, I knew the people involved,” said Richardson, who edited the film.

Dividing her time between graduate and some undergraduate editing classes, Richardson is also a professional feature film editor with credits to her name such as “Mi Familia,” “Selena,” and “Down in the Delta.” At first, she rejected the project from her long time friend Hardwicke, but then she changed her mind after reading the script. She was so impressed she even accepted lower than usual pay to work on it.

Hardwicke motivated another long time friend and fellow filmmaker to embark on this low budget production: UCLA alumnus Elliot Davis, a cinematographer who recently shot such films as “White Oleander,” “40 Days and 40 Nights,” “I Am Sam,” and “Out of Sight.”

“I knew we were going to get in,” said Richardson, who has been to Sundance before. “It’s exactly a Sundance film; it’s the right combination of risky filmmaking and talented, dedicated, actors.”

In fact, even while editing the movie, Richardson brought in brochures of hotels in Park City, Utah (location of the Sundance festival) to show Hardwicke, convincing her to make her reservations early. Out of 900 entries, only 16 films were selected, and Hardwicke’s hotel reservations will not go to waste.

“Sundance reminds me of why I wanted to make films in the first place,” Richardson said. “I already told my class today, I think we are going to win.”