Lauren Greenfield's New Documentary "The Queen of Versailles" Selected to Premiere on Opening Night at Sundance 2012

Lauren Greenfield/INSTITUTE

Wednesday November 30^th, 2011, saw the announcement of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival 2012 competition lineup. And at the forefront of that lineup is Chelsea Director Lauren Greenfield’s new documentary feature The Queen of Versailles, selected for the documentary competition. In addition to being selected, it is an incredible honor that Lauren’s new documentary has been selected to be the documentary film shown at the festival on opening night, Jan. 19^th, 2012 at Eccles Theatre. Lauren’s new documentary feature, in development over the last two years, tells the story of a wealthy couple triumphantly constructing the biggest house in America – a sprawling, 90,000-square-foot palace inspired by Versailles – when their business empire falters due to the economic crisis.  Their rags-to-riches-to-rags story reveals the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream. Chelsea partners Allison Amon and Lisa Mehling are among the credited producers on the upcoming film. The 2012 Sundance Film Festival will be the world premiere of The Queen of Versailles, and it will set the tone for a decidedly more critical lineup of documentaries accepted into the festival this year. “The films are more eclectic than ever and better than ever,” said John Cooper, in a phone interview with the New York Times today, “…The documentaries are more comprehensive, with issues examined in an all-encompassing way and not just in microcosm.”


“Lisa and I are thrilled to hear that Sundance not only placed the film in competition, but also selected it to be screened on the opening night of the festival,” said Chelsea’s Allison Amon, “Lauren is such a talented Director, and we are, as always, so pleased to be working with her.” Additionally, Lisa Mehling had this to say, “Given the passion that Lauren has put into this film, it’s fantastic that it has not only been selected, but also championed by Sundance.” We are proud to announce the acceptance of Lauren Greenfield’s The Queen of Versailles into the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, and the honor that it has been selected as the first documentary shown during the upcoming Festival.


Amongst the flurry of press that has followed in the wake of the announcement of this years' competition entrants on Wednesday, the following New York Times piece featured a photo from Lauren's documentary, and a bit about the film, in addition to detailing the rest of the lineup. Check it out after the jump, here.