Only Sofia Coppola Could Make a Gala Feel Like a Movie

It made perfect sense that the Museum of Modern Art and Chanel — fluent in quiet luxury and cinematic cool — came together to honor Sofia Coppola, the filmmaker who turned girlhood and glamour into her own visual language. It was a natural fit; Chanel’s long history with Coppola and MoMA’s film program made the tribute more like a continuation of a shared love for cinema.

The night unfolded like one of Coppola’s films: intimate, stylish, and laced with deadpan humor. Surrounded by friends and family — including her daughters Romy and Cosima — Coppola watched as tributes poured in from Elle Fanning, Josh Hartnett, Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola, and MoMA’s chief curator of film, Rajendra Roy, along with video messages from Kirsten Dunst and her father, Francis Ford Coppola.

Fanning remembered “living in Sofia’s world” as a teenager: “It changed my girlhood forever. It was a place I felt safe and seen, and I wanted to live in it a hundred times over.” Hartnett added with a grin, “The ink spilled to commemorate her work could fill a swimming pool.”

Later came Bill Murray, delivering the kind of dry humor only he could pull off: “She told me to go to Zegna and get something. I never got around to it. I’ve been catching up on sleep, and this is just what was in my closet. So I apologize to you for that, Sofia.” The room erupted, because what better way to celebrate someone than with love disguised as laughter?

When Coppola finally took the stage, she reflected on her beginnings: “When I started, I was in my 20s, and it was the ’90s in L.A., where I was known as the daughter of … This was before ‘nepo babies’ were charming — and most of them ended up in rehab,” she said, laughing. “Most people didn’t think I had something to say that mattered, but I found a few who did.”

The night ended with Elvis Costello —introduced by David Letterman — her favorite artist playing the kind of set that makes you wish the credits would never roll.