ACTOR Natalie Portman is the star of Black Swan but there’s another striking aspect about the film. A print by Melbourne artist Sarah Amos, who also works in the US, appears in a crucial scene in a loft belonging to ballet director Thomas Leroy, played by Vincent Cassel

Portman, playing Nina Sayers, sits on a stool in front of the print and hears that she needs to get in touch with her sexuality. Here’s how the print got there. Amos’s friend in the film’s art department was looking for black and white pieces, so Amos submitted her 518-centimetre-by-213-centimetre print Cats in the Cradle. She flew from Vermont to New York with the print rolled in a tube under her arm and headed to the Soho loft. Artists generally receive $3000 for use of their work but Amos said: ”I was pretty thrilled to have the experience, so I negotiated a smaller amount.” Amos is represented by Flinders Lane Gallery and heads home in August for her first solo show. She’ll be able to relive the time she swanned around the Big Apple.