Katie Holmes, Meg Ryan Support Women in Film at Chanel Tribeca Event

On Friday, a number of Hollywood’s established and emerging creatives — including Meg Ryan, Jodie Foster, Katie Holmes, Catherine Hardwicke, Myha’la, AnnaSophia Robb and Tommy Dorfman — joined Tribeca Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal at the Greenwich Hotel to celebrate the Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program as part of an annual luncheon.

The starry event saw guests dressed in their best summer Chanel looks as they mingled across the hotel’s first floor with key festival, Through Her Lens and Tribeca Enterprises leadership. That included CEO Rebecca Glashow, who celebrated the festival, the company and the program’s history of female-forward work. “At Tribeca, I’m happy to say that over 70 percent of our team is made up of women,” Glashow said to cheers. “Beyond the number, though, it reflects a culture built on the belief that diverse voices make things stronger, more creative and more connected to the world around us. That is the belief at the heart of everything that we do at Tribeca, and what makes Through Her Lens so special.”

Glashow passed the mic to Rosenthal, who began by congratulating director Quinn Whitney Wilson for the Netflix acquisition of the Tribeca Festival world premiere and her directorial doc debut, Jean-Michel Basquiat. After a round of whoops, cheers and a little dancing, Rosenthal pivoted to thanking Chanel for continuing to support the event before delivering her reliably rousing address. 

Standing alongside Glashow, Through Her Lens advisory board member Patty Jenkins, Tribeca Festival executive vp of artist relations and special events Nancy Lefkowitz, and vp of Tribeca Studios and artist development at Tribeca Enterprises Bryce Norbitz, Rosenthal recalled how, “Tribeca was born out of the belief that culture can help rebuild what fear and hatred have tried to tear apart. Twenty-five years later, I believe that as strongly as I did then, and Through Her Lens is very much a part of that vision.”

Inside the hotel, as the crowd — which also included Maggie Rogers, Cazzie David, Ella Beatty, Ari Graynor, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Debi Mazar and Francesca Scorsese — spilled over into the courtyard, Rosenthal got frank. “Let’s be honest about what is really at stake. This has never just been about representation. It’s about power. Who gets funding? Who gets the microphone? Who gets to share the narrative? Who gets remembered?” she said. “History is erased when contributions go unrecognized, when achievements go uncredited, when stories are never funded, never produced, never preserved.”

“It changes what we believe is possible. That is why the work you do matters,” she continued. “Not just because you make films, but because you shape culture. You help us understand one another; you challenge what we think we know; you create empathy in a world that increasingly rewards outrage.”

Days earlier, at the Perelman Performing Arts Center across from One World Trade Center, Rosenthal and Tribeca co-founder Robert De Niro shared similar sentiments honoring the festival’s 25th anniversary and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s contributions to launching it with 1300 volunteers just 120 days after Sept. 11. Among those in the room that night were Whoopi Goldberg, Ayo Edebiri, Rosanna Arquette, Denis Leary and Marcus Samuelsson.

“The festival’s opening day came about when Lower Manhattan was still reeling. A lot was uncertain, and a lot of people thought that the area might never recover,” Bloomberg recalled in his speech Monday evening. “Few believed that the neighborhood could become stronger and more vibrant than ever. But I know that both Bob and Jane did.”

For festival co-founder Robert De Niro, “We wouldn’t have even gotten to the first one without Mike’s innovative and passionate support,” he told the private gathering. “Tonight, this room is filled with people who have given so much to the festival. I don’t want to say that Mike Bloomberg towers above us all, but let’s just say he stands out.”

Rosenthal was clear in her praise of Bloomberg and his administration’s role in helping revitalize lower Manhattan through the festival, alongside the contributions of other politicians like former Governor George Pataki, who “walked with me and Liam Neeson to every firehouse in Lower Manhattan to give out tickets” in 2002. Rosenthal specifically pointed to how Bloomberg’s personal contributions brought the city back “from the brink,” she said. “Mike’s predecessor self-styles himself as America’s mayor, but we were blessed to have Mike Bloomberg as New York’s mayor.” 

Both events embraced the authenticity, resilience, perseverance, innovation and sense of community that drive the festival. At the Through Her Lens Luncheon, Twilight and Thirteen helmer Hardwicke recalled that “opening night, where they explained [the festival’s] history to 9/11 and the build-up. It’s incredible that [Rosenthal] and Robert had the vision to do such a remarkable seismic thing to change the neighborhood. How can anybody not admire hell out of her?”

“Everything about this festival seemed completely impossible in 2001,” said Drena De Niro in a separate conversation on Friday. “I watched Jane really spearhead this all out of passion, getting my father involved, getting everybody in the neighborhood involved. This is just such an emotional and amazing thing to see. Jane is one of the most focused people I know. She doesn’t spend time on all the things that are reasons why not to make it happen, and I have really admired that drive and confidence.”

The result, De Niro says, is a festival and event with Chanel that is “not a competitive environment, and that’s what’s so wonderful. You realize we all want the same thing. We all want to tell our story, we all want respect, we all want to connect. Here we are all together as one celebrating the same purpose.”

The goals of the festival, say Glashow, are unsurprisingly similar to those of Through Her Lens, as an intentional community and creative development effort. “My biggest focus is on continuing to grow the audience as we see the next wave. How do we make sure they are responding, that they know this is a place where they can tell their stories and be supported?” she said.

“I do certainly see it getting bigger. There’s a question of whether it can show up in other points of the year in different ways, where we have a deeper dive into one of the verticals that we go into?” she continues. “Taking it internationally is a very big priority. The brand means a lot. It really translates because of our unique people’s festival approach — we’re seeing it resonate in Portugal and have that same impact as it did on New York, in both connecting with the local population, but also bringing in the industry and doing a lot to support the economy of the city.”