WJC and UN to host director Simon Curtis for special screening of Woman in Gold

NEW YORK - The World Jewish Congress will partner with the Holocaust and United Nations Outreach Programme tonight (Thursday) in New York to screen the film Woman in Gold, the true story of a Jewish woman’s quest to retrieve the famous Klimt painting that belonged to her family in Austria and was looted by the Nazis in the Second World War.

The event will be held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, from 6:30-9:30 P.M. Welcome remarks will be delivered by Ms. Christina Gallach, UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Mrs. Evelyn Sommer, Chair of World Jewish Congress North America, and Mr. Simon Curtis, the director of Woman in Gold.

The remarks will be followed by the screening of the 2015 film, the true story of one woman’s journey to reclaim her heritage and seek justice for what happened to her family during the Holocaust.  Sixty years after she fled Vienna during the Second World War, Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), an elderly Jewish woman, starts her journey to retrieve family possessions seized by the Nazis, among them Klimt's famous painting Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I.  Together with young lawyer, Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), she embarks upon a major battle that takes them all the way to the heart of the Austrian establishment and the United States Supreme Court, and forces her to confront difficult truths about the past along the way.

A roundtable discussion will follow the screening, with a question-answer session. The session will be moderated by Christina Gallach, and will feature Simon Curtis alongside Ms. Monica Dugot, the International Director of Restitution at Christie’s, and Mr. Wesley A. Fisher, Director of Research, Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc. and Head of Claims Conference-WJRO Looted Art and Cultural Property Initiative.

"Those Holocaust survivors lucky enough to rebuild their lives and regain their humanity still carry with them the burden of suffering, loss and injustice," said World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder. "The story of Woman in Gold is a perfect example of the justice now being served with the return of art and property looted by the Nazis. It is a small but triumphant step for survivors and their heirs, who will continue to fight for their rightful ownership to these assets and expose the truth behind the Nazi theft, and the postwar grab by museums and governments."

Journalists who wish to attend the screening should RSVP with one of the media contacts below. For media accreditation, please contact the United Nations Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit through its website at www.un.org/en/media/accreditation. Photo identification is required to pass through UN security screening at the First Avenue and 46 Street entrance. The event will also be streamed live at http://webtv.un.org/ . The program can be followed on Twitter under the hashtag #HolocaustRemembrance, or through the World Jewish Congress handle @worldjewishcong and the United Nations Outreach Programme handle @UNHOP.

About the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme

The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme was established by General Assembly resolution 60/7 in 2006 in order to further education about and remembrance of the Holocaust and thereby help prevent future acts of genocide.  Its multifaceted programme includes online and print educational products, seminars, exhibitions, a film series and the annual worldwide observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, held on 27 January.