PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Lauren Greenfield’s Sundance Film Festival entry “The Queen of Versailles” tells the story of every American in danger of losing a home amid the economic crisis.
The difference is that the home in question was a 90,000-square-foot mansion inspired by the excesses of France’s Palace of Versailles.
Greenfield’s documentary chronicles the financial success of Florida time-share condominium entrepreneur David Siegel and his wife, Jackie, who set out to build the largest house in America at the height of the real-estate bubble.
When the bubble burst, the Siegels had the same rude awakening as millions of others: They had been living easy on borrowed money they now could not repay.
“Queen of Versailles” was among the opening-night films at Sundance, which started Thursday and runs through Jan. 29.