The Chanel and Tribeca partnership continued on Friday afternoon at the annual Through Her Lens luncheon. Now in its 11th year, the Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program was celebrated at The Greenwich Hotel, led by Tribeca’s Jane Rosenthal.

Guests including Meg Ryan, Jodie Foster, Myha’la, Katie Holmes, Cazzie David, Maggie Rodgers, Ella Beatty, AnnaSophia Robb, Debi Mazar, Supriya Ganesh, Patty Jenkins, Tommy Dorfman and Alina Cho brought out their best warm-weather Chanel for the occasion as the New York City temperatures shot up into the high 80s. 

After several years of seated lunches, the Through Her Lens event has now taken a more casual approach, meaning guests milled about the space freely with Arnold Palmers in hand as waiters passed by with bowls of caprese salad, individual shrimp cocktails and mini sandwiches. 

The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program was founded in 2015 and offers mentorship for women and nonbinary filmmakers, and on Friday cause for celebrations were in order.

“A little breaking news right now,” Rosenthal told the room. “We’ve just found out that ‘Jean-Michel,’ directed by Quinn Wilson, who’s here in the room, has just been picked up by Netflix.” The room broke out in cheers as Wilson got up from her seat and did a celebratory dance. 

“This year is especially meaningful because we’re celebrating our 25th anniversary,” Rosenthal continued. “Tribeca was born out of the belief that culture can help rebuild what fear and hatred tried to tear us apart….The goal was to create something unique and needed. A space where women filmmakers could tell their stories on their own terms with access to mentorship, resources, funding and a community that believes in them.”

Rosenthal wrapped up her remarks with encouragement to tell stories that are “bold, complicated, funny, painful, messy and true.”

“That is why the work you do matters, not just because you make films, but because you share culture. You help us understand one another. You challenge what we think we know. You create empathy,” she said. “In a world that increasingly rewards outrage, empathy is an act of courage.”