THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART’S FIRST FILM BENEFIT RAISES $948,000
FOR THE MUSEUM’S COLLECTION OF FILM
Gala Dinner Honored Baz Luhrmann, Who Made a Special Presentation
Including Clips from His Film Australia
New York, November 11, 2008—Last night’s Film Benefit gala at The Museum of Modern Art,
which honored the award-winning work of director, producer, and screenwriter Baz Luhrmann,
raised $948,000 for the Museum’s collection of film.
Hugh Jackman served as Honorary Chair of the event; co-chairs were Jay Fielden, editor of
Men’s Vogue; Antoine Arnault, Director of Communications at Louis Vuitton; Marie-Josée Kravis,
President of the Museum’s Board of Trustees; and Jerry I. Speyer, Chairman of the Museum’s
Board of Trustees.
The event was made possible with the major support of Men’s Vogue and Louis Vuitton, and
will raise funds to ensure that great works of cinema continue to join the collection of The Museum
of Modern Art.
In addition to a cocktail reception and dinner, the evening included a tribute to Mr.
Luhrmann by Mrs. Kravis and Mr. Jackman, recognizing Mr. Luhrmann as a groundbreaking
director of such films as Strictly Ballroom (1992), Romeo + Juliet (1996), and Moulin Rouge!
(2001). The event’s 300 guests were treated to a special presentation made especially for this
event by Mr. Luhrmann that included clips from his next feature film, Australia, which stars Nicole
Kidman and Hugh Jackman, and opens on November 26.
The Museum of Modern Art presented Mr. Luhrmann with a framed, original film still from
The Wizard of Oz—Luhrmann’s favorite film in MoMA’s collection. The Museum also announced
the acquisition of Luhrmann’s complete cinematic works for its film collection; as an artist in the
collection Luhrmann also received a lifetime membership to the Museum.
The gala dinner in the Museum’s Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium featured a
distinctly Australian theme in décor and menu. Elton John entertained the benefit’s guests with
“Your Song” and “The Drover,” his new song from the movie Australia.
Among the Film Benefit’s guests were:
Eva Amurri; Jacinda Barrett; Jessica Biel; Joy Bryant; Rose Byrne; Georgina Chapman;
Doo Ri Chung; Chiara Clemente; Barry Diller & Diane von Furstenberg; Massimo
Ferragamo; Jeff Gordon; Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard; Carolina Herrera;
Chanel Iman; Sir Elton John; Liya Kebede; Nicole Kidman; Zoe Kravitz; Ronald S. and Jo
Carole Lauder; Annie Leibovitz; Elizabeth Moss; Carey Mulligan; Rupert & Wendi Deng
Murdoch; Zac Posen; Miuccia Prada; Lee Radziwill; Narciso Rodriguez; Charlie Rose;
Rachel Roy; Donald & Melania Trump; Ivanka Trump; Harvey Weinstein; Rachel Weisz;
Anna Wintour.
MoMA Film Department
The Museum of Modern Art’s Department of Film was established in 1935 as the Film Library, and
today is recognized as holding the strongest international film collection in the United States,
incorporating all periods and genres. Totaling over 22,000 titles and 4 million film stills, the
collection spans the entire history of film. Among its holdings are the original negatives of the
Biograph and Edison companies, the D.W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks, David O. Selznick, Andy
Warhol, and Joseph Cornell collections, contemporary films from Hollywood and around the world,
and significant collections of film stills, scripts, posters, and other study materials. Works in the
collection are made available through the Film Study Center and exhibition programs, and which
are stored in the Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Center, a state-of-the-art facility that opened in
June 1996 in Hamlin, Pennsylvania.
In 1979, the Department of Film was awarded an honorary Oscar by The Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in recognition of its “on-going program of film preservation and
its continuing support of the motion picture as an art form.”
Today, the Department of Film, under the direction of Rajendra Roy, the Celeste Bartos
Chief Curator of Film, organizes public screenings of some 700 films each year in the Roy and
Niuta Titus theaters. The kaleidoscopic programming encompasses all genres and forms of
cinema, from classic and repertory to experimental and contemporary. The department is widely
recognized for its annual presentations of new cinema from Germany, Brazil, and Canada, as well
as the acclaimed New Directors/New Films series, a popular festival that showcases emerging
filmmakers.
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