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 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 ; 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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