NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Elizabeth Segerstrom and the Segerstrom Family, South Coast Plaza, Carnegie Hall, WNET and PBS SoCal presented the New York premiere of the documentary “Henry T. Segerstrom: Imagining The Future” at the Directors Guild of America, followed by a champagne reception at Carnegie Hall on Monday, March 20. The documentary will air on New York’s public television stations on Friday, March 31 at 10:30 p.m. on THIRTEEN and Sunday, April 2 at 10 p.m. on WLIW21.
The film chronicles the personal journey and broad impact of a man raised on a Southern California farm who played a part in discovering, celebrating and supporting some of the world’s great artists. The late Henry T. Segerstrom co-founded South Coast Plaza, an internationally-recognized luxury shopping destination celebrating its 50th year beginning this month.
Maria Hall Brown, Executive Producer of the PBS SoCal production, welcomed the audience of about 300 at the DGA New York Theater and introduced the film. “This is just an exceptional way to celebrate and to learn about the life of an incomparable man,” Hall Brown said. “Henry Segerstrom defined elegant determination and it was his efforts that changed lives.”
Following the screening, Cartier pages ushered guests to the dinner reception at Carnegie Hall. The Weill Terrace Room was decorated with dramatic bouquets of white orchids and featured a caviar bar as well as chocolate sculptures of Segerstrom Center for the Arts buildings and the Henry and Elizabeth Segerstrom-commissioned “Connector” by Richard Serra.
At the reception, Terry Lundren, Chairman of Macy’s Inc., said “Henry created the single most important shopping center in the United States – South Coast Plaza. And it wasn’t just that it was big. It was the way he thought about it in a very methodical way.”
World-renowned soprano Renée Fleming, a friend of the Segerstrom family, performed two songs: "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Giacomo Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi” and one of Henry T. Segerstrom’s favorite songs, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Fleming later said “Henry was a visionary, which meant that he had his own ideas about what he could do.”
The following esteemed guests were among the attendees: H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, head of the UN Alliance for Civilization and former president of the UN General Assembly and Mrs. Muna Rihani Al-Nasser; Lady Liliana Cavendish; Dame Jillian Sackler; Charlotte Sarkozy; Judy Zankel; Lukas Barwinski-Brown, CEO, Lang Lang International Music Festival; Maxim Beloserkovsky, former principal dancer, American Ballet Theatre; Ashley Bouder, Principal Dancer, New York City Ballet; Irina Dvorovenko, Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre; Catherine Hall, Actress; Catharine Hamilton, Chairman, American Friends of Versailles; John Buffalo Mailer, Author and Actor; Kevin McKenzie, Artistic Director, American Ballet Theatre; Chris Minev, President and Executive Director, Mariinsky Foundation of America; Nigel Redden, General Director, Spoletto Festival USA; Malissa Feruzzi Shriver, Executive Director, Turnaround Arts California; Tom West, Chief Advancement Officer, American Film Institute; Anton Segerstrom, Partner, South Coast Plaza; Michele Ateyeh, President, Prestige Brands Division of Accessory Network Group, LLC; Giovanni Carestia, President, Panerai; Ruggero Caterini, COO, Dolce&Gabbana; Claudia Cividino, CEO Americas, Bally; Cece Cord; Edouard D’Ambarmount, Brand President North America, IWC; Delphine Gesquiere, Executive Creative Director, Vogue; Michael Gould, Former Chairman and CEO, Bloomingdale's; Jacques Olivier d'Halluin, CFO, Bottega Veneta; Daniel Paltridge, President U.S., Bulgari; Cerelina Proesl, model; Stephanie Stokes, interior designer; Janet Waltzer, Vice President Retail, West Coast & Canada, FENDI; Chip Fisher, Founder, Fisher Wallace; Christopher Forbes, Vice Chairman, Forbes Media LLC; Phil Jimenez, Editor/Producer, PBS SoCal; Kathy Jura, producer; Andy Russell, President and CEO, PBS SoCal; Neal Shapiro, President and CEO, WNET; Ty Woodson, Producer, PBS SoCal.
