Natalie Portman attended the UCLA Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center For Israel Studies 5th Annual Gala in Beverly Hills earlier this week in a sequined Dior dress.

Natalie Portman’s UCLA Gala Look

Portman’s burgundy Dior mini-dress featured short sleeves and patterned bands of sequined detailing. She completed her look with Dior sandals and a clutch by Roger Vivier. The actress had her hair parted down the middle and pulled back in a tight bun.

Get The Look For Less: Dress, Neiman Marcus, $430. Shoes, Zappos, $45.

Portman was at the UCLA gala to present the Israel Studies Award to writer Amos Oz, who penned the memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness. Incidentally, Portman will be making her feature-length directorial debut with her own adaptation of the memoir. The film, which will premiere at the Cannes film festival, will focus on Oz’s burgeoning writing career and his relationship with his mother, who Portman portrays in the film.

In a recent interview – in which Portman notably called her Oscar for Black Swan a false idol – she revealed that more than just the story of A Tale of Love and Darkness, she was inspired to adapt it because of Oz’s use of language.

“The language was really what [drew me], [Oz’s] obsession with words and the way words are connected in Hebrew, which has this incredible poetry and magic,” Portman told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s obviously almost impossible to translate, but there’s just incredible beauty to that. [Jews are] a people built of words, people built of books, and it’s quite beautiful to see that, which is a strange thing to start for a movie.”

A Tale of Love and Darkness will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival later this month.