Protesters who flew into Bermuda to question a multi-billion dollar Wall Street investment bank's directors have premiered a film in New York about their plight.

In May Lazard Ltd., which is incorporated in Bermuda, held its shareholders' meeting at Elbow Beach. As they entered the meeting they were greeted by protesters who alleged they have failed to improve the quality of care at one of the largest elderly care home companies in the US, Atria Senior Living Centres.

Lazard Ltd. is run by chief executive officer Bruce Wasserstein, who took the company public in 2005. Mr. Wasserstein is estimated to be worth approximately $2 billion according to Portfolio Magazine.

Last Thursday, workers and residents from Atria Senior Living joined members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in a "rolling matinee" to debut a new film called "Gouging Grandma" by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Robert Greenwald about Atria's alleged mistreatment of its workers and elderly tenants. They claim that staff and residents receive sub-standard care.

Atria is owned by Lazard Alternative Investments (LAI), which has operated separately from its publicly-traded namesake since 2005. However the protesters allege that ultimately Mr. Wasserstein and Lazard directors still have large stakes in LAI and could influence decisions there, if they chose to.

The film follows Mr. Wasserstein from New York to Bermuda and chronicles his interaction with protesters.

Mr. Greenwald claimed: "Lazard can pay its principals princely sums while its affiliates treat the most vulnerable among us this way? Not in my book: Wasserstein needs to be called to the mat for his indifference to how cost-cutting hurts Atria residents and workers."

In New York City, activists staged a premiere of the film on mobile flat-screen televisions outside Lazard's offices at Rockefeller Plaza, handing out movie tickets and free candy to the lunch-time crowds. They also hit Mr. Wasserstein's home at Fifth Avenue later in the day, spreading the word among the city's elite.

Simultaneous actions occurred in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston at Lazard offices. The video is available at www.ImproveAssistedLiving.org

With two million members, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. SEIU is America's largest union of healthcare and property services workers, and is the second largest union of public services workers. It is a long-time advocate of responsible corporate governance practices and an active member of the Council of Institutional Investors, an organisation of more than 130 pension funds whose assets exceed $3 trillion.

Lazard, which currently manages $141 billion, is one of the few investment banks to emerge from the sub-prime mortgage meltdown unscathed.