Annal:2002 Sundance Film Festival —Dramatic

Personal Velocity

Rebecca Miller

• 2002 Sundance grand jury
• Score: 10.52

Personal Velocity is actually three short digital films, a trio of superb character portraits: Delia (Kyra Sedgwick, Something to Talk About, Singles), a former bad girl who musters the will to leave her abusive husband; Greta (Parker Posey, Party Girl, Best in Show), a book editor who finds that success in her career leaves her dissatisfied with her unambitious husband; and Paula (Fairuza Balk, The Craft, Gas Food Lodging), a young woman whose narrow escape from a car accident makes her question her life. With…

Real Women Have Curves

Patricia Cardoso

• 2002 Sundance audience
• Score: 8.52

While My Big Fat Greek Wedding broke box-office records in 2002, Real Women Have Curves did a better job of keeping it real. Set in the vibrant environs of East Los Angeles, with a breakthrough performance by Latina newcomer America Ferrera, this comedic drama takes a familiar subject—a bright teenager struggling to define her identity—and turns it into an authentic celebration of feminine empowerment. Eighteen-year-old Ana (Ferrera) has scholarship potential, her first boyfriend, and a chubby figure that her similarly overweight mother (Lupe…