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With his nonfiction work Miss Universe 1929, the Hungarian documentarist Peter Forgacs brings to the world the affecting and emotionally resonant tale of Austrian beauty queen Lisl Goldarbeiter. This now-forgotten Viennese girl of humble origin rose through the ranks of Miss Austria 1929 (where she took first prize) and Miss Europe (where she ranked second) to eventually claim the title of Miss Universe at the first such pageant in Texas. After that, the offers poured in for Lisl, including one for a Hollywood contract; Goldarbeiter rejected both this and many offers from prospective romantic suitors, and instead made the ill-fated decision to marry a wealthy Viennese silk tie merchant - ill-fated because the 1938 Anschluss by Hitler's Germany wiped out the couple's wealth and reduced them to near-poverty. In telling Lisl's story, Forgas utilizes extensive footage shot by her cousin Marci Tenczer, a novice filmmaker from Szeged who captured all of these events with his own movie camera. Forgacs and Bea Szemzo narrate.