Yesterday's commencement of Tribeca and CHANEL's second annual women's filmmaker program, THROUGH HER LENS, was an expectedly star-studded affair, but also a highly enlightening one.

Selected filmmakers Joey Ally and producer Constanza Castro, Catherine Eaton and producer Jessica Vale, A.V. Rockwell and producer Leah Natasha Thomas, Ani Simon-Kennedy and producer Carly Hugo, and Sonejuhi Sinha and producer Charlotte Rabate met with their expert mentors to discuss and work on their short-form projects, but not before mingling with a diverse and versatile host of female filmmakers at an introductory luncheon in Tribeca restaurant Locanda Verde. Among the accomplished cadre of multi-hypenate guests in attendance were Tribeca boss ladies Jane Rosenthal and Paula Weinstein; THROUGH HER LENS mentors Shari Springer Berman, Rashida Jones, Tanya Wexler, and Rachel Winter; and jurors Anne Carey, Tamara Jenkins, So Yong Kim, and Jennifer Westfeldt.

Also in attendance were Gillian Anderson, Caroline Baron, Molly Conners, Celia Costas, Lucy Barzun Donnelly, Camen Ejogo, Wendy Finerman, Deborra-Lee Furness, Donna Gigliotti, Mamie Gummer, Tribeca Film Institute's Amy Hobby, Rachel Horovitz, Pamela Koffler, Katie Holmes, Mary Lambert, Ellen Lewis, Mynette Louie, Jenny Lumet, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Zosia Mamet, Mary Stuart Masterson, Sienna Miller, Emily Mortimer, Adepero Oduye, Meryl Poster, Megan Rafferty, Celine Rattray, Ry Russo-Young, Stella Schnabel, Alexandra Shiva, Laurie Simmons, Diane Sokolow, Julie Taymor, Ruth Wilson, and more.

Before the luncheon, the five selected filmmakers and other guests were treated to an exclusive master class with Sofia Coppola's go-to editor extraordinaire, BAFTA winner Sarah Flack (Lost in Translation, The Bling Ring), who shared plenty of eye-opening insights about the ins and outs of her fascinating profession, which requires, but so often lacks, a personal touch. "Any editor can cut," Flack pointed out. "The question is can they connect with you creatively?"

The day also included another master class from costume magician (and Madonna's trusted designer of choice) Arianne Phillips, who guided the filmmakers on how to chronicle their characters' stories and aid their actors via the clothes they wear. "I think costumes... need to work on the tactile level to help inform the actors," noted Phillips, a two-time Academy Award nominee for her period-specific looks in Walk the Line and W.E. "Developing a character is all about prep for me," Phillips later mused. "I need to know the character's backstory, the before, the after, and then I can create the fantasy."

Check out the above slideshow to get an insider's glimpse at the day's festivities. And click here to learn more about THROUGH HER LENS and read about each of the selected filmmakers' projects.