Elle Fanning, Bill Murray, & More Honor Sofia Coppola at the MoMA Film Benefit Presented by Chanel

The Museum of Modern Art and Chanel held their 17th annual Film Benefit on Wednesday night in New York City—turning MoMA, on 53rd Street and 5th Avenue, into a star-studded banquet hall outfitted with wine-red roses and long, tapered candles decorating the museum. In past years, MoMA has honored legends like Denzel Washington, Cate Blanchett, and Guillermo del Toro. For 2025, director Sofia Coppola was inducted into the gang. Lest anyone need reminding, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker is responsible for generation-defining movies like The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, and The Bling Ring.

Of course, a Coppola in the building means there is a hefty guest list: Olivia Wilde, Elle Fanning, Lupita Nyong’o, Bill Murray, and Jason Schwartzman were all in attendance, along with Sofia’s husband Thomas Mars and her two daughters, Cosima and Romy Mars. (It was a true family affair—her brother, Roman Coppola, also came with his children and partner.) After taking photos on the carpet, Romy greeted Anna Sui warmly; the elder sister also chatted with Marc Jacobs and his husband, Char Defrancesco.

The woman of the hour was, without question, Sofia Coppola, who hammed it up for the cameras with Schwartzman and Murray. Wilde, wearing a black velvet column dress, recalled her earliest memories of the filmmaker. “Probably The Virgin Suicides, which provided young women roles that were singular characters,” she said. “And then Lost in Translation became endemic to our generation—the depiction of loneliness was unmatched, still is. She understands the very-difficult-to-describe feeling of a very hollow aloneness, even if you’re surrounded by people. No one else can depict that like Sofia.”

In his speech, Murray also referred to Coppola’s ability to capture “a metaphysical loneliness.” Schwartzman, who is Coppola’s cousin and spoke alongside Roman, recalled his childhood being introduced to “new bands, books, and magazines,” by the ever-cool Sofia. Elle Fanning spoke of her first time meeting the director: “I was 11 years old—no training bra needed. I picked out jeans, and a sparkly retainer that I often clicked in and out when I was nervous.” After begging her grandmother to see Marie Antoinette in the theater, Fanning got the chance to work with Coppola in Somewhere followed by the period drama The Beguiled alongside Kirsten Dunst, Nicole Kidman, and Colin Farrell. “She made me feel valued,” Fanning said. “I always say, I didn’t go to college, but I went to New Orleans with Sof, Kirsten, and Nicole!”

While accepting her honors, Coppola looked back on almost three decades of work and thanked her “film family” for giving her a chance. “When I started, I was in my 20s and it was the ’90s L.A. where I was known as the ‘daughter of…’” she said. “This was before nepo babies were charming and most of them ended up in rehab. And I was the amateur actress who singlehandedly ruined The Godfather films. Most people didn’t think I had something to say that mattered but I found a few that did.” Next year, she noted to W, will be the 20th anniversary of Marie Antoinette. “We’re planning some stuff around that, and I hope to re-release it,” she said. “I’ve just been making stuff. I can’t believe that I have a body of work. It’s surreal.”