An Evening with Penelope Cruz as She Celebrates Her New Movie

The Cinema Society and Chopard hosted a screening of Oscilloscope’s ma ma, starring Penelope Cruz (known, of course, for Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar and On Stranger Tides, the billion-dollar box office mega-hit). The movie was directed by Julio Medem (Sex and Lucia), one of the most highly regarded directors in Spain, and an influential figure in Basque Cinema. In the film Medem, celebrated for his magic-realist style, honors the high melodrama associated with the works of Pedro Almodóvar and Douglas Sirk, as it follows Magda (Cruz) through tragedies and miracles alike. (Just as Magda is diagnosed with breast cancer, she meets Arturo, played by Luis Tosar, a devoted husband and father dealing with is own life-shattering challenges.)

Among the attendees were Cruz (who not only starred in the film, but produced it), Julian Schnabel, Paul Haggis, Peter Facinelli, Billy Connolly, Shiloh Fernandez, Maya Thurman-Hawke, Nico Tortorella (Younger), Zuleikha Robinson, Nicole Patrick, Toni Kalem, Sante D’Orazio, Sofia Sanchez de Betak, Krystal Joy Brown, Lorenzo Martone, Jeisa Chiminazzo, Pat Cleveland, Wednesday Martin, Jaime Cepero, Candy Pratts Price, Amy Fine Collins, Daniel Benedict, Ellie Stuart Hunter, Claudia Mason, Antoine Verglas, and Cinema Society founder Andrew Saffir.

The after party was held at Café Medi, a new coastal Mediterranean restaurant from restaurateurs Corey Lane and Roberto Bucchelli.  Guests drank Qui tequila cocktails, named Magda’s Amor and Arturo’s Aperitivo, after the characters in the film.