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Join us for a screening of Pascal Bonitzer’s acclaimed Auction (Le tableau volé), a sharp, witty, and engrossing drama inspired by remarkable true events.André Masson (Alex Lutz), a renowned Parisian auctioneer, receives an unexpected tip: a painting by Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele has been discovered in the home of a young factory worker in Mulhouse.
When André and fellow art expert Bertina (Léa Drucker) discover that the painting may be authentic, they are drawn into the complex world of the international art market and the legacy of Nazi-looted art. With an outstanding ensemble cast and Bonitzer’s incisive dialogue, the film moves deftly between mystery, comedy, and moral drama, exploring questions of ownership, memory, and what happens when the value of a work of art collides with the weight of its past.
Following the screening, stay for a discussion led by Jennifer Cazenave, Associate Professor of French at Boston University and affiliated faculty in Cinema & Media Studies and the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies. Her talk will explore the spoliation of art during World War II, questions of restitution and memory, and how cinema has represented these issues.
Watch the trailer
The evening will include a reception where guests can connect and share their thoughts over a glass of wine and complimentary pop-corn.
Movie in French with English subtitles.
Praise for The Stolen Painting
“Sharp, elegant and funny.” — Le Figaro
“Both instructive and entertaining… a candid look at the ferocious world of the art market.” — Franceinfo Culture
“Sharp and witty… A subtle, ironic, and intelligent exploration of the intersections between art, history, and commerce.” — Télérama
“A sophisticated and compelling character study and mystery… fascinating to watch.” — ABC Radio National
About Pascal Bonitzer
Pascal Bonitzer is one of France's most acclaimed contemporary filmmakers and screenwriters. A longtime writer for Cahiers du Cinéma, he has collaborated with directors including Jacques Rivette, André Téchiné, Raúl Ruiz, and Patrice Chéreau. As a director, he is celebrated for his elegant, intelligent films that blend wit, psychological insight, and literary sophistication. Victor comme tout le monde is his latest feature.
Over the past three decades, Bonitzer has written or co-written more than forty screenplays and directed eleven feature films, including Encore, Nothing About Robert, Small Cuts, Looking for Hortense, Cherchez Hortense, The Great Alibi, and The Prize of Peril. His films have been selected for major international festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno, and have earned multiple César Award nominations. Widely regarded as one of the leading literary voices in contemporary French cinema, Bonitzer is renowned for crafting films that combine intellectual depth, subtle humor, and keen observations of human relationships.
About Jennifer Cazenave
Jennifer Cazenave is Associate Chair of Romance Studies and Associate Professor of French at Boston University, where she also teaches in Cinema and Media Studies and is affiliated with the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies. Her research focuses on French cinema, documentary film, archives and memory, and Holocaust and genocide studies. She is the author of An Archive of the Catastrophe: The Unused Footage of Claude Lanzmann’s “Shoah” (SUNY Press, 2019), which received an Honorable Mention for the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Best First Book Award. Her current research examines the representation of disability in twentieth-century film and media.
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Event venue
53 Marlborough St, Boston, MA, United States, Massachusetts 02116
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