Documentary by Julien Johan
Running Time: 90 mins
In French with English subtitles. Free with RSVP.
Visionary artist and skilled self-promoter, Bartholdi pioneered inventive fundraising campaigns in France and the United States, an early form of crowdfunding, to finance the Statue of Liberty. The film traces his transatlantic journeys, the statue’s gradual creation, and the powerful symbolism it carried at its inauguration in October 1886. Alongside Bartholdi, it highlights key figures such as Édouard de Laboulaye, who conceived the idea of the gift, and Joseph Pulitzer, whose press campaign mobilized public support to complete the funding.