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The $50 Million Art Swindle

Feature-length documentary for Arena by director Vanessa Engle, telling the remarkable story of a charlatan art dealer who swindled over $50 million from the art establishment before going on the run.

This feature-length documentary for Arena by acclaimed director Vanessa Engle tells the remarkable story of a charlatan art dealer who swindled over $50 million from the art establishment before going on the run.

Michel Cohen, a popular and charming New York art dealer, was originally from France. A high school dropout from a poor background, Cohen was a self-invented man who went on to become a rich and successful art dealer, with homes in Malibu and New York. Throughout the 1990s, he sold paintings by artists such as Picasso, Monet and Chagall to America鈥檚 wealthiest elite.

Cohen was living the high life, until he began trading recklessly in the stock market and ran up considerable debts. In an attempt to recoup his losses, he swindled private collectors, auction houses and other art dealers out of more than $50 million. When his swindles were discovered, he fled the USA with his wife and two small children and went on the run.

In 2003, he was found by Interpol in Brazil and was imprisoned in Rio de Janeiro, but seven months later, while awaiting extradition to the USA, he escaped from prison and vanished off the face of the earth. Sixteen years later, film-maker Vanessa Engle has managed to track him down and persuade him to tell his extraordinary story - a highly entertaining crime caper that is also a rich exploration of greed, motive and morality.

1 hour, 29 minutes

Last on

Tue 27 Feb 2024 23:30
主播大秀 Four

Clip

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:02

    Lalo Schifrin

    The Wave

  • 00:07

    Sylvester

    You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)

  • 00:10

    Lalo Schifrin

    Jim On The Move

  • 00:11

    Lalo Schifrin

    Bossa Em Nova York

  • 00:33

    Lalo Schifrin

    Jaws

  • 00:35

    Charles Trenet

    La Mer

    Singer: Charles Trenet. Orchestra: Guy Luypaert and His Orchestra.
  • 00:42

    Lenox

    American Coast (feat. Ben Mazu茅 & Akil)

  • 00:42

    Madrid Pimps

    Intro (Con Javi Aka El Brujo)

  • 01:02

    脡dith Piaf

    Non Je Ne Regrette Rien

  • 01:03

    [no artist]

    Santa's Jet

  • 01:07

    Luiz Bonfa, Oscar Castro-Neves, Lalo Schifrin

    Bossa Nova Cha Cha

  • 01:18

    Jacques Brel

    Ne Me Quitte Pas

  • 01:25

    Charles Aznavour

    Yesterday When I Was Young

Credits

Director Vanessa Engle
Executive Producer Darren Kemp
Producer Billie Shepherd
Production Company Top Hat Productions Ltd

Broadcasts