A & E

The Pitt hit the fan here in 2006 when actress Sienna Miller, filming "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," disparaged the city with a scatological rhyming of its name.

But the finished product, which premiered Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, could make Miller eat her words.

Dawn Keezer, director of the Pittsburgh Film Office, who attended the sold-out premiere, said the film got a warm reception. And the 'Burgh seldom has looked better on-screen, she said.

"It's absolutely amazing. Pittsburgh looks stunning. It's literally a picture-postcard to the city of Pittsburgh."

Not only that, but the inclusion of another locally shot film, "Smart People," marks the first time two major films made here have premiered at the same Sundance festival, Keezer said.

"Mysteries" cast members Mena Suvari, Jon Foster and Omid Abtahi attended the screening, Keezer said. She said she didn't see Miller.

Based on Michael Chabon's best-selling novel, "Mysteries" chronicles a transformative summer in the life of Art Bechstein, an economics graduate from the University of Pittsburgh. He defies his gangster father, played by Nick Nolte, and becomes involved in a love triangle with a couple played by Miller and Peter Sarsgaard. The film was shot in the Strip District and Tarentum, as well as other locations

Produced by Groundswell Productions and directed by Rawson Thurber, "Mysteries" is seeking a distributor, Keezer said.

The film is entered in the Dramatic competition category at Sundance.

"The buzz is really good about it," she said.

"Smart People," shot here in 2006, stars Dennis Quaid as a Carnegie Mellon University professor who falls in love with a student, played by "Sex and the City's" Sarah Jessica Parker.

It's set for release April 11.

Keezer said she planned to see "Smart People" Monday evening.

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