Cannes Film

Sean Baker, Jameela Jamil among those at Eli Roth Cannes Luncheon

By Reel 360
May 21, 2025

Amid the sun-soaked hills of the French Riviera, three power players from the worlds of film and finance—Eli Roth (Founder of The Horror Section), Christopher Woodrow (Founder of Media Capital Technologies), and Veronica Ferres (Founder of Construction Film)—came together to host an exclusive luncheon in celebration of the 78th Festival de Cannes.

Held at a private estate in Biot, just outside Cannes, the elegant affair honored two trailblazing women in entertainment leadership: Iris Knobloch, President of the Festival de Cannes, and Helen Hoehne, President of the Golden Globes.

*(L-R) Vittoria Buraschi, Eli Roth, Lilly Krug, Cannes President Iris Knobloch and Helen Hoehne (Photo by Hoda Davaine/Getty Images for MCT )*

Guests were flown in by helicopter to the secluded estate, where they were greeted with flowing champagne, San Pellegrino, craft cocktails, and chef-curated French cuisine served on a sprawling stone patio overlooking an infinity pool and floral gardens.

Notables from the entertainment and fashion worlds mingled throughout the afternoon, including Jameela Jamil, Barbara Palvin, Dylan Sprouse, Sean Baker, Amoury Nolasco, Lorenzo Antonucci, Lilly Krug, Blanca Blanco and George Finn, among many others. Take a look at a few of the photos (courtesy of Getty Images) from the event below:

CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 19: (L-R) Veronica Ferres, Jameela Jamil and Helen Hoehne attend an inaugural luncheon in honor of Iris Knobloch and the 78th annual Festival de Cannes on May 19, 2025 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Hoda Davaine/Getty Images for MCT )

Blanca Blanco and Eli Roth (Photo by Hoda Davaine/Getty Images for MCT )

The event also served as an informal celebration of Roth’s upcoming horror project, Ice Cream Man, which Media Capital Technologies and The Horror Section recently announced they will finance and produce. Eli Roth, the creative mind behind Cabin Fever, Hostel, and Thanksgiving, posed with MCT principals Christopher Woodrow and Raj Singh in a toast to their new collaboration.

Guests included a cross-section of global talent, executives, and creatives such as Vittoria Buraschi, Marta Pozzan, Eli Massillon, Wild7Films founder Kyle Stefanski, Abdel Ameen Banda, Ash Avildsen, Jamar Hart, Maryam Zolghadr, Maurice Fadida, Angus Sutherland, Grace Yue, Tarak Ben Ammar, Alexandra Lasky, Nicole Muj, and more.

As golden hour fell across the estate, one thing became clear: in the world of entertainment, there’s nothing quite like Cannes—and nothing more powerful than celebrating its future with a little horror, a lot of champagne, and the people shaping what’s next.