Yahoo Sports Chanel, Tribeca Festival Serve Up Style and Cinema at Annual ‘Through Her Lens’ Luncheon
“Is there a chicer place in the world?”
Kate Siegel was posing a rhetorical question outside of the Odeon on Friday afternoon. She and many others streaming inside the restaurant were decked head-to-toe in Chanel for the annual Tribeca Film luncheon celebrating “Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program.” Inside, the room was packed with emerging and established female film talent, many of whom are premiering new projects during the festival. Others were solidly on juror duty for the week.
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“Most of my life I’ve watched seven or eight movies a week — so now I’m just doing it without feeling guilty about it,” said Siegel, who’s judging the international narrative feature category.
“It’s my first time being a jury member of any festival, so it’s been a learning experience,” said Nina Dobrev. “It’s been really amazing to celebrate the artistry and hard work that went into the [films.]”
Friday’s lunch was hosted by Greta Lee, Patty Jenkins and A.V. Rockwell, an alum of the “Through Her Lens” program who earlier this year took home the grand jury prize at Sundance for her first feature, “A Thousand and One.” Other guests included Stephanie Hsu, Sophia Lillis, Lola Tung, Zazie Beetz, Dianna Agron, Hari Nef, Kelsey Asbille, Zoey Deutch, West Duchovny, Chelsea Peretti, Jemima Kirke, Ji-young Yoo and Alysia Reiner.
“It’s essential,” said Lee of supporting initiatives like “Through Her Lens.” “I feel like part of the core experience of being a woman in film is having partnerships.” As for her own partnership with Chanel, Lee noted that it began with “a spirituality that I experienced from birth,” she said.
“This year at the film festival there was an all-time record of female filmmakers,” noted festival juror Dianna Agron. Later, Jane Rosenthal put a number to that record: 75 percent of the festival’s projects this year were directed by women.
“I do think we’ve seen an increase of women and underrepresented communities being represented in front of the camera, but I still think we struggle behind the camera,” said Beetz, a festival juror who stars in the upcoming Max miniseries “Full Circle,” which will premiere at the festival on Sunday. “It is a male-dominated industry, particularly behind the scenes. Crews are often very male, a lot of directors. So I think it’s good to encourage and to give people the support that they need to do this work.”
Hsu, who premiered her forthcoming female-led comedy “Joy Ride” at SXSW earlier this year and is gearing up for the film’s summer release, noted that a lot of industry plans are in flux at the moment due to the ongoing WGA strikes. “I feel really proud of unions right now galvanizing and showing up for their needs and for their communities,” she said, adding that she’s been focusing on developing her own projects in the interim.
“I was joking with someone — a writer — the other day about how writing is truly one of the most excruciating [things]. Acting is excruciating in a different kind of way, but with writing, if you don’t write it, nothing is on the page.”
Hari Nef, who made her Tribeca Film debut as a juror in 2021, was excited to be back at the festival to debut her new horror film “Bad Things” in competition. The actress is also in the middle of promotion for “The Idol” (“I don’t really know what happens past episode two — your guess is as good as mine,” she said of the controversial series) and the forthcoming “Barbie” film.
“It’s crazy that everything’s coming out at once. I’m just trying to make it to July 22, which is when my rental on Fire Island starts, the day after ‘Barbie’ comes out,” said Nef, adding that she was running on adrenaline. “The second that drops I’m going to be hiding in the gay part of a desert island for the better part of a month. Last year I didn’t leave the island — don’t plan on leaving it again — so it’s just work work work. No sleep until the Pines.”
Launch Gallery: Inside the Chanel Through Her Lens Luncheon
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