Dianna Agron Hosted a Dinner and a Movie with ILYSM and FFFEST

Last night in the Lower East Side, as guests stepped into the PUBLIC for dinner and a movie—dinner was served at the hotel’s Jean-Georges Vongerichten–helmed PUBLIC Kitchen and the movie was screened downstairs in the PUBLIC Arts space—they were greeted with the most adorable of welcomes. A little foster pup named Terry sat by the door as its temporary owner (who helped host the event) couldn’t manage a dog sitter in time. It made for quite the photo op; guests scooped up the little guy to pose at the base of the Public’s neon-lit escalator.

Hosted by Dianna Agron, the night would celebrate a partnership with ILYSM (a female-led creative studio founded by Alice Wang, which supports young creatives on the rise) and FFFEST (a screening and talk series founded by Clémence Polès, Mimi Packer, and Natalie Falt that supports women in film). The event drew the likes of Matt Dillon, Athena Calderone, Molly Gordon, and Timo Weiland; everyone took their place at a dinner table set with mixtapes CDs burned by Brianna Lance and featuring scores from Hollywood classics.

Post-dinner, the group migrated to the subterranean space to watch four short films (one of which was a trailer) selected by Precious Alike and Wang. “We selected works from female filmmakers who had not yet made a feature film,” explained Wang. First was the trailer for “A Place Between” by Tracy Antonopoulos, then the shorts: “Fragile” by Hala Matar, “Chopping Onions” by Adinah Dancyger, and “The Row” by Philiane Phang.

On her highlight of the night, Wang said it was seeing Polès and her team enjoy the fruits of their labor: “They’re such a scrappy enterprise, and to see Clémence enjoy something she’s built from scratch was amazing.” A highlight for Terry the pup? Finding a home. The ever-gracious Athena Calderone adopted the dog on-site! And given Calderone’s chic digs, we’d say he’s one lucky dog!