The Queen of Versailles - True/False Film Fest

The Queen of Versailles

Meet the family with the mostest: a couple that wants to build the biggest house in America
Director: Lauren Greenfield
Runtime: 1:40
In-person: director Lauren Greenfield
Fest Year: 2012
Jacquie Siegel married money. Twice. The second time, it was to David Siegel, who made his fortune by pioneering the sale of time-share vacation rentals. With their eight kids in tow, they decide they need a bigger house. In fact, they need the biggest house—a ninety-thousand-square-foot palace modeled on Louis XIV’s digs—and they’re going to build it in south Florida. Photographer and filmmaker Lauren Greenfield (Thin) takes us behind the scenes of a gilt-edged American Dream writ large and investigates just how much happiness money can buy. While some may see Queen as an extension of glossy reality-TV wealth-porn, Greenfield has found gold in the delicious access she’s gained. With great technical panache, she delivers a towering allegory about a country at a crossroads. (PS)