Earlier this afternoon, I stopped in to Starbucks for a business meeting. And though I normally buy my coffee beans elsewhere, I was there, I had a gift card to blow through, and so decided to pick up a pound.

As I sorted through the bags of choices, I heard myself ask, “are any of these coffees Fair Trade certified?”

Which, in all of my prior life, I had never even considered asking – having, similarly, say, never chained myself to a large redwood tree at the threat of its clear-cutting.

At Sundance, however, I had watched the documentary Black Gold, which dives deep into the world of coffee, examining the intertwining of farmers, traders, unions, multinationals, consumers and corner coffee shops. The film is taglined, “your coffee will never taste the same again,” which, apparently, is correct.

So as I paid for my first (or, at least, for my first proactively selected) bag of Fair Trade beans, I thought about Black Gold, and was struck, as I am every few months, by a wave of profound appreciation for the power of film.

Somehow, ninety minutes spent sitting in the dark, watching lights flicker against a blank wall, had left me seeing the real world itself in a new, different way.

And, as I look over our year’s plans for Cyan, as we prepare to make a few announcements next week and to roll ahead on some big actions throughout the rest of the month, I’m happy to see that we’re increasingly refocusing on that power of film, on wielding it in a smart, purposeful way.

Which makes me think, now more than ever, this definitely beats having a real job.