News Awards & Events Film Festivals Empire's Serayah Takes Us Behind the Scenes at Sundance By Claire Stern Claire Stern Claire Stern is the Deputy Editor of ELLE.com. Previously, she served as Editor at Bergdorf Goodman and was the Associate Editor at InStyle. Her interests include fashion, food, travel, music, Peloton, and The Hills—not necessarily in that order. InStyle's editorial guidelines Updated on January 26, 2017 @ 01:00PM Pin Share Tweet Email Trending Videos Photo: Courtesy of Serayah There's nothing like the first time at Sundance—just ask Serayah. The Empire actress and singer took to the snow-filled streets of Park City, Utah this week to promote her new Common-produced Netflix indie, Burning Sands, which documents the brutal tradition of hazing on a college campus in Virginia. In the film, Serayah plays Angel, a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority who strikes up a romance with a frat brother, Zurich (Trevor Jackson), before things take an expectedly dark turn. On the day of the world premiere, she took us along for a peek behind the scenes of her prep process. Scroll through below to see her Instagram diary. 01 of 08 ARRIVAL Courtesy of Serayah "Good morning, Sundance! I'm here! Can't wait to see our project come to life." 02 of 08 TIME FOR PRIMPING Courtesy of Serayah "Getting glammed up for the screening. But first, lashes." 03 of 08 IN TRANSIT Courtesy of Serayah "On my way to the screening all bundled up for this snowy Utah weather." 04 of 08 SHOWTIME Courtesy of Serayah "Outfit of the day: House of CB coat, Madewell bodysuit, and J Brand pants. Shout-out to my stylists Michah McDonald and Wayman Bannerman!" 05 of 08 IT TAKES A VILLAGE Courtesy of Serayah "Thank you to the whole cast and production team for being so real and humble. Such an amazing experience! #squadgoals" 06 of 08 SELFIE TIME WITH IMANI HAKIM Courtesy of Serayah "Love this girl! Be sure to catch her in the flim." 07 of 08 MUGGING WITH MITCHELL EDWARDS Courtesy of Serayah "One more with Mitchell!" 08 of 08 AFTER THE SHOW IS THE AFTER-PARTY Michael Bezjian/Getty "Screening done… time to celebrate this awesome movie! This is my new favorite purse by Anya Hindmarch."