Lauren Greenfield Nominated for 65th DGA's "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary" Awards

The 65th Annual Directors Guild of America Awards' Documentary Nominations have been announced today, and we are honored and proud that Chelsea Pictures director Lauren Greenfieldhas been nominated for the DGA's "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary" Award for her film The Queen of Versailles!

For more info on the other fantastic directors nominated in this category, check out the Hollywood Reporter, here.

Lauren Greenfield's Documentary "Queen of Versailles" Nominated for Critics' Choice Awards

The Broadcast Films Critics Association (BFCA) has announced their nominees for the 18th Annual Critics' Choice Awards. Steven Spielberg's Lincoln leads the nominees with a record 13 noms.

But as impressive as that is, we're really extremely proud to announce that Chelsea Director Lauren Greenfield's popularly and critically acclaimed documentary The Queen of Versailles has been nominated in the Best Documentary Feature category. It is fair to say it has been one of the best years in recent memory for documentaries, a genre very much experiencing a popular renaissance, and the other nominees in the category are all fantastic films as well.

Image Courtesy of Lauren Greenfield / INSTITUTE

The other nominees include Bully, The Imposter, The Central Park Five, West of Memphis, and Searching for Sugarman. We are proud that Lauren Greenfield's film has been nominated alongside such an esteemed group of documentary films. Congratulations to all of the nominees, and good luck.

For more information and the full list of nominees, head on over to the Critics' Choice Awards Nominations page, here.

And for additional coverage on the documentary nominees, check out RealScreen, here.

Lauren Greenfield Talks "Queen of Versailles" on Last Call with Carson Daly

Lauren Greenfield's "Queen of Versailles" Opens Today in New York & LA!

Two movies about Billionaire's are opening today, and Indiewire calls The Queen of Versailles their Criticwire Pick this weekend!

Read the full review here, as well as The New York Times' Review, another critics' pick, here.

Our deepest condolences go out to all of those affected by the horrible event in Colorado.

Lauren Greenfield & Star of Her Forthcoming Doc "The Queen of Versailles," Jackie Siegel, Interviewed on the Today Show

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chelsea Director Lauren Greenfield and Jackie Siegel, star of Lauren's upcoming documentary The Queen of Versailles, interviewed on The Today Show this morning!

The Queen of Versailles opens nationwide this Friday, July 20th! Don't miss the trailer below:

Director Lauren Greenfield's Hotly Anticipated Documentary, "The Queen of Versailles" Gets an "A" from Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman gives Chelsea Director Lauren Greenfield's Hotly Anticipated Documentary The Queen of Versailles a glowing review, "A."

Click the excerpt below to read the original article at EW.com:

First Trailer for Lauren Greenfield's Award-winning Documentary, "The Queen of Versailles"

Opens Nationwide July 20th, 2012!
http://www.magpictures.com/thequeenofversailles/

https://www.facebook.com/QueenofVersailles

Lauren Greenfield's "Beauty Culture" Selected for Tribeca Film Festival

Lauren Greenfield's Documentary Short, Beauty Culture, has been selected to screen at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, as a part of the three film "Triptych" shorts program alongside Dreamscapes dir. by Wolfram Hissen, and Alekesam dir. by Jason Bergh. Thematically, the films truly form a "triptych," delving sequentially  into the subjects of art, music, and physical beauty.

This is the world premiere of Beauty Culture outside of the exhibition of the same name for which it was commissioned that was recently held at the Annenberg Space for Photography.

Please check out the official announcement of short films  to be screened at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, here, for more details. 

Lauren Greenfield's "The Queen of Versailles" to Show at First Ever Sundance London

Lauren Greenfield's new Feature Doc, The Queen of Versailles, which garnered her a Best Directing Award at this year's Sundance in Park City, has been chosen as one amongst a select 14 films to screen at the first ever Sundance London.

Trevor Groth, Sundance Director of Programming told Variety, "We wanted not only a mix of narrative and documentary films, feature and short films, but also films from a variety of sections of our festival in Utah -- Premieres, U.S. Competition and even our New Frontier experimental section."

John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said in the Guardian yesterday, "We're a mission-driven organisation, so we are always looking to extend the audience for American independent films. London is the perfect venue. We have a long history with UK films, and probably show more British titles than any other films from outside the US. So there's a natural affinity. But I'm also interested to explore the differences between UK and US independent cinema." He went on to say, "I've been working at Sundance since 1989 and we've obviously seen a lot of changes in that time. But the mission has always stayed the same. It's a festival for artists who are outside the mainstream. Despite all the changes in exhibition and distribution, there is still something great about just getting people together in one place. That's why festivals still matter. It has to happen on a bricks-and-mortar, person-to-person basis. That's where the fresh ideas take root."

The Inaugural Sundance London Film Festival runs from April 26-29 at O2 in London. The 4 day event will begin with appearances by Robert Redford himself, and renowned musician T Bone Burnet. The London iteration of the festival will place a particular emphasis on music as well as film.

Lauren Greenfield Wins Best Director, U.S. Documentary, at Sundance 2012 for "The Queen of Versailles"

Lauren Greenfield has won the award for Best Directing, U.S. Documentary at Sundance 2012 for her film, "The Queen of Versailles." We are all very proud of her achievement!

Lauren Greenfield’s Documentary, “The Queen of Versailles” Picked Up at Sundance By Magnolia for Theatrical Release

Lauren Greenfield’s Documentary “ The Queen of Versailles,” which premiered on Thursday night as the opening film at Sundance, has been picked up by Magnolia Pictures last Friday for theatrical release! Press for the film so far has been extremely favorable. "The Queen of Versailles" was only the second film picked up at the Festival, and is slated for a summer theatrical release. Magnolia president Eamonn Bowles said of the film in a recent statement, “’The Queen of Versailles’ brilliantly encapsulates the salient issues of the American economic downturn, while also being one of the most jaw-droppingly entertaining films I’ve seen in a very long time," and goes on to say of the director, “Lauren Greenfield is an exceptionally talented filmmaker with a wonderfully humanistic touch, and she has found a truly magnetic, charismatic star in Jackie Siegel." Lauren said in a statement Friday, “I am really excited to be working with Magnolia, who we huddled with late into last night… I feel like we have found a true kindred spirit, who cares as much about our film as we do. I am really looking forward to working with such a smart, impressive team.” We are very excited and proud of Lauren.

Sources: the Los Angeles Times and the Hollywood Reporter

Image Courtesy of Lauren Greenfield / INSTITUTE

Chelsea Director Lauren Greenfield’s Documentary, “The Queen of Versailles” Premieres Opening Night of Sundance to Rave Reviews

Last night, the 2012 Sundance Film Festival kicked off with the world premiere of Chelsea Director Lauren Greenfield’s new feature-length documentary, The Queen of Versailles, co-executive produced, in part, by Chelsea co-owners Allison Amon and Lisa Mehling.

We are delighted to note that reviews for Lauren’s documentary so far have been extremely positive. Keep an eye on the list below for links to reviews as they become available. Congratulations to Lauren Greenfield on her new film.

Reviews for Lauren Greenfield's The Queen of Versailles. 

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117946861/

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2012/01/sundance-queen-of-versailles-rich-mansion-florida-film-siegel.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/20/us-sundance-opening-idUSTRE80I23920120120

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/20/lauren-greenfield-s-new-documentary-like-real-housewives-of-sundance.html

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sundance/53334595-177/sundance-film-greenfield-festival.html.csp

Image Courtesy of Lauren Greenfield / INSTITUTE

Chelsea's Allison Amon, Lisa Mehling, and Director Lauren Greenfield Packing their Bags for Sundance 2012, where "Queen of Versailles" Premieres on Jan. 19th

Sundance Film Festival 2012 is just around the corner (Jan. 19th – Jan. 29th), and Chelsea’s very own Lisa Mehling, Allison Amon, and Director Lauren Greenfield, (whose new film, The Queen of Versailles, will debut as the Opening Night Documentary this year) are gearing up for the journey to Park City in just a couple of weeks. Anthony Vagnoni, author at SourceEcreative, caught up with industry players attending and/or participating in this year’s festival.


Check it out, and see what Allison has to say about Sundance, after the jump: http://www.sourceecreative.com/news.php?ID=6232

Lauren Greenfield examines "Beauty Culture"

Lauren Greenfield's Girl Culture

More great news for Chelsea director Lauren Greenfield, who earlier this month was honored by the Art Directors Club and the Webby's: her photography and a short documentary film are being shown in the new "Beauty Culture" exhibit which opened this weekend at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles.

In addition to snapshots from some of Lauren's most well-known projects including Girl Culture, she was commissioned to shoot a 30-minute documentary for the exhibition that the New York Times called "one of the show's highlights." The film plays every hour at the exhibit and includes footage that ranges from toddler beauty pageants to female body builders, interviews with photographers featured in the show as well as a Harvard Medical School professor, as well as models, actresses including Jamie Lee Curtis.

"The whole point of [the exhibit] from my approach is deconstructing the world we live in and understanding what's behind these pictures in the magazines — understanding what we're seeing," Lauren told the LA Times. "We are so influenced by these things and most of the time we don't question them. It's [as common] as the air we breathe."

We couldn't be more excited for Lauren, who was honored at the opening gala on Friday. The exhibit opened to the public on Saturday and will run through November 27. For those of you who will be in L.A. soon, we hope you get the chance to stop by, and if not you can check out Lauren's reel over at the Chelsea website.

Lauren Greenfield honored by Art Directors Club and the Webby's

Lauren Greenfield's stunning film and fashion photography for New York Magazine has received honors from both the Art Director's Club and the Webby's.

Last year Lauren was invited to be New York Magazine's featured photographer for the Spring Fashion Issue, and shot during fashion week in New York, Paris, and Milan. The resulting portfolio, a mix of gripping behind-the-scenes and runway shots, was used for both an 11-page featured spread in the magazine and a short film for the website. The photos are now set to receive a Gold Cube for Magazine Editorial photography at the upcoming Art Directors Club awards in New York, and the film will be an Official Honoree at this year's Webby's.

Needless to say we're all very excited for Lauren and "Fashion Show" - check out the film above and see more of her work at the Chelsea website.

Lauren Greenfield shoots for Delta and Wieden and Kennedy

Take a look at Lauren Greenfield's moving spot for Wieden and Kennedy and Delta for Breast Cancer Awareness month. Check out the above clip to learn  about the power of the pink dress, and see Lauren's signature photographic style and deeply personal documentary work.

Lauren Greenfield Getty Lecture - Sunday, September 26th

A quick heads up for the LA-based Lauren Greenfield fans, she is giving a talk this Sunday at the Getty after a screening of her acclaimed documentary kids+money. The Getty describes the film as:

A piercing short film by photographer Lauren Greenfield, Kids and Money is a conversation with young people about the influence of money in their lives. Born of the extremes of poverty and wealth that define the Los Angeles landscape, teens and tweens from Pacific Palisades to East Los Angeles address how they are shaped by a culture of consumerism.

And Lauren will be talking afterwards about the film and her larger body of work. It starts at 1:00 pm, admission is free and parking is $15. More details here!

Lauren Greenfield's Girl Culture at the Getty

Lauren Greenfield's photography is no stranger to museums, but this is a big show, even for her. Greenfield's monograph Girl Culture is featured in the Getty's newest show, Engaged Observers: Documentary Photography Since the Sixties. Drawing from the work of a very small and influential group of photographers, the show is about photography "situated between journalism and art... essays that delved deeply into topics of social concern and presented distinct personal visions of the world." Chelsea always has a number of Greenfield's books on hand, and Girl Culture is an office favorite. The press release describes Girl Culture as:

a photographic project that delves into the ways consumer society affects the lives of women in America. Of central concern to Greenfield was the exhibitionist tendencies of contemporary American femininity. Visiting girls of all ages at home, in doctors’ offices, and out with friends, Greenfield examined personal issues of public consequence, providing an intense and intimate exploration of girls’ relationships to their bodies and the effects of popular culture on self-image. Many of her pictures and accompanying interviews focus on what she refers to as “body projects,” the daily grooming rituals undertaken in an effort to express identity through appearance. Others look at the social and consumerist influences from which these young women take their cues as well as the difficulty of living up to such expectations.

The Getty is always free, so if you're in LA, there's no excuse!

Lauren Greenfield on Special Assignment For New York Magazine's Spring Fashion Issue

Lauren Greenfield just completed a major multiplatform fashion project for New York magazine. Greenfield shot more than 50 runway shows in Paris, Milan, and New York, resulting in a twenty-four page spread in the Spring Fashion Issue, as well as a short film that debuted on the magazine's website. Greenfield's focus was deconstructing the traditional "look" of fashion week photography and addressing the multifaceted creative processes that come together to create high fashion. The shoot has been commented on and reblogged all across the internet, but the main page of it is here, a really good interview with Greenfield about the project is here, and included in this post is her video montage and selected tear sheets from the magazine. Congrats to Lauren and everyone who made this major project possible!

Lauren Greenfield's Dubai Photo Essay Hits The New York Times

As we mentioned in a earlier post, Lauren Greenfield shot a monograph this year about the crash of Dubai's supercharged economy. Her work was rather prescient, given the recent news concerning Dubai World's $60 billion debt, and now her photos have made the home page of the New York Times.

In the interview with Greenfield that accompanied the article, she said:

“Dubai is a cautionary tale in the same way as the foreclosure crisis — which I photographed — was,” Ms. Greenfield said last weekend, as the financial crisis in Dubai unfolded. “Dubai was this miracle of development with minimal planning and no infrastructure.”

The original Times story and interview with Lauren is here, and some interesting reblogging here and here.