2 minute readAt lunchtime on June 5th, a well-dressed female film buff and celebrities, including Katie Holmes, Meg Ryan, Jodie Foster, Maihara, Maggie Rogers and Kazzy David, gathered in a sunny room at the Greenwich Hotel to celebrate the partnership between the Tribeca Film Festival and Chanel’s annual Through Her Lens program.
Guests spilled out into the lush courtyard, wearing a mix of casual and classy daytime fashion, with plenty of Chanel pieces. I had a cucumber spritz and a glass of white wine. Nibble on prosciutto sandwiches, shrimp cocktails, elegant charcuterie, cheese and crudité spreads. And we waved white paper fans to ward off the heat, which was in the late 80s.
The luxurious surroundings served as a backdrop for broader, more “urgent” objectives. Founded in 2015 by Tribeca and Chanel, the Through Her Lens program provides financial and creative support through mentorship and funding to self-identified women and non-binary filmmakers in the United States. Jane Rosenthal, film producer and Tribeca Festival co-founder, told the assembled crowd. “When we launched this program with Chanel 12 years ago, the goal wasn’t just to host beautiful lunches, but Chanel made it so easy. The goal was to create something unique and needed: a space where women filmmakers could tell their stories in their own words, with access to mentorship, resources, funding, and a community that believed in them.”
“That mission feels more urgent than ever…History is not just books burned and monuments torn down. History is erased when contributions are not recognized, when credit is not given, when stories are not funded, when they are not produced, when they are not preserved. Every time a voice is left out of the record, it diminishes our understanding of who we are. It changes how we all understand the world. It changes who future generations think belongs in that room.”
Addressing the filmmakers in the audience specifically, she added: “That’s why the work you do is important. Not just because you make movies, but because you shape culture. You help us understand each other. You challenge what we think we know. You create empathy. In a world where anger is increasingly rewarded, empathy is an act of courage.”
During the event, Rosenthal also announced that Tribeca selection Jean-Michel Basquiat, a documentary co-directed by Quinn Whitney Wilson and Viridiana Lieberman, has been officially picked up by Netflix. As the audience applauded, Wilson, who was in the audience, stood up and performed an impromptu dance of joy.
Rosenthal ultimately concluded, “I’ve been in this business long enough and I’ve heard every excuse why it shouldn’t be made. And yet, the films that move the culture forward are almost always the ones that someone told them not to make. That’s what ‘Through Her Lens’ is about. Not just opening doors, but helping more women walk through the doors, and leaving the door open for the next person behind.”
See more images from the “Through Her Lens” luncheon below.
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