A Likeness of Lahti

By Stephen M. Silverman

04/29/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Christine Lahti says she sees a glimpse of her own adolescent rebellion in Jennifer, the multi-pierced teenager played by LeeLee Sobieski in "My First Mister," the film that marks Lahti's feature directorial debut. "I was a hippie and a freak," Lahti, 50, told PEOPLE. "I was not as lonely as LeeLee's character, but I felt disenfranchised and rebelled." Lahti was in Washington, D.C., for a "Best of the Fest" fundraiser for the Sundance Institute, which featured a screening of "My First Mister." The film stars Sobieski as an angry and depressed 17-year-old and Albert Brooks as her unlikely friend, a buttoned-down store manager. As an actress, Lahti won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Dr. Kathryn Austin on "Chicago Hope." (She made headlines -- and was the butt of several jokes -- when she was in the loo when her name was called at the 1999 Globes.) She won an Oscar six years ago for directing the short film "Lieberman in Love." After Tuesday night's screening of "My First Mister," Lahti told the audience: "I heard some people sniffing and that makes me happy."