Mira Nair

School of the Arts adjunct assistant professor Mira Nair's film, "Hysterical Blindness," will be the "centerpiece premiere" of the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, to be held Jan. 10-20 in Park City, Utah, according to Variety magazine (Nov. 28).

The HBO production, directed by Nair, is about three women who try to pull their lives together and find meaning in Bayonne, N.J., in 1987. The film stars Uma Thurman, Gena Rowlands, Juliette Lewis, Ben Gazzara, Bobby Tisdale and Justin Chambers.

This announcement comes on the heels of Nair's Venice Film Fest success in September, in which "Monsoon Wedding" won the top prize, the Golden Lion.

In addition to these accomplishments, according to Variety (Nov. 26) Nair has been named the jury president of the 52nd Berlin Intl. Film Festival, to be held Feb. 6–17.