Join us for a special screening of the award winning film Queen of Versailles to launch the DVD release, followed by a Q&A with director Lauren Greenfield.
In 2007, billionaires David and Jackie Siegel started building their new home: a mansion in the style of Versailles, complete with sushi bar, bowling alley and Louis XIV antiques. It was set to become the largest residence in the United States.
With the epic dimensions of a Shakespearean tragedy, The Queen of Versailles began as a documentary chronicling the excesses of America’s super-rich, but when in 2008 the global recession hit it became a disastrous riches to rags story.
Director Lauren Greenfield instinctively knows what questions to ask, when to ask them, and, more importantly, where to put her camera to mine this overflowing treasure of events. She paints a portrait of a couple who dared to dream big and lost, and through them explores the innate virtues and flaws of the American dream.
Directed by Lauren Greenfield
Duration: 100′
Year: 2012
“A meditation on marriage and a metaphor for the fragility of fortunes, big and small.” – The Economist
“The loss of grotesque wealth has never been so entertaining – or weirdly moving – as in this riches-to-rags documentary” – The Guardian
“Lauren Greenfield’s documentary opens into a riveting American tragicomedy” – The Independent
This screening is in partnership with:
