Courteney Cox and Katie Holmes were among the many notable names who came out to support Tribeca Enterprises and Chanel’s fourth women’s filmmaker program on Tuesday afternoon during a luncheon at New York’s Locanda Verde.
The three-day Through Her Lens workshop — presented in collaboration with Pulse Films and supported by Tribeca Film Institute — provides five female filmmaking teams with project support, master classes and one-on-one mentorship, and one of the teams will be awarded full financing. Cox, who serves as a mentor this year, and Holmes, who has attended the event’s annual luncheon for years, couldn’t be more thrilled to champion fellow female artists one year after the birth of the #MeToo movement.
“Yes, absolutely, it feels more powerful in this political climate. It’s time. We’re striving and getting closer to a world where it’s not biased toward one gender, so having events like this is a great way to continue that growth for women,” Cox told The Hollywood Reporter. “We make up half the population. We offer a necessary perspective in film and it’s a way for our voices to be heard, which we really need right now.”
Added Holmes: “I am in support of young female voices, and I think it’s important to keep inspiring and keep encouraging women to use their voice and to tell their stories. That in and of itself is very empowering to get their point of view out there, to get their ideas out there.”
The Tuesday afternoon gathering — celebrating the workshop’s selected filmmakers Francesca Mirabella and Kylah Benes-Trapp; Laramie Dennis and Jenna Cedicci; Suha Araj and Maryam Keshavarz; Gabriella Moses and Shruti Gangul; and Jennifer Cho Suhr and Carolyn Mao — drew actors, filmmakers, producers and screenwriters, including Uzo Aduba, Zosia Mamet, Jenny Lumet, Deborra-Lee Jackman, Mary Lambert, Kelly Marcel, Paula Wagner and Samira Wiley, among others.
Tribeca Enterprises CEO Jane Rosenthal told THR that having so many influential women lend their support to the Through Her Lens program feels particularly impactful nearly two weeks after the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault by multiple women, allegations he vehemently denied.
“Even though this year has been filled with societal movements and female empowerment, it feels like we’ve got a lot more to do. So, I’m happy that there are so many women here today who want to do something about that” said Rosenthal. “When you look at what just happened with Kavanaugh, no matter who was right or wrong, it’s how people were treated that proves there is more work to be done for women. Our voices need to be heard and to be believed.”
“I feel like there’s a lot of attention with #MeToo and Time’s Up, but the fight is far from over,” she continued. “It’s disillusioning that we’re still in this place after a year of #MeToo and change.”
Writer and actress Jill Kargman couldn’t help but acknowledge the significance of where Tuesday’s luncheon was held. As she noted, Tribeca’s Greenwich Hotel, located above Locanda Verde, is one of the hotels where some of Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual assaults took place.
“Last year at this event, it was the day after the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke,” the former Odd Mom Out star said. “It’s really cool to have this all come full circle and have all these women coming together inside this exact restaurant inside the Greenwich Hotel where he assaulted people. It’s like female Stonewall. There’s no stopping us. We will always rise up.”
