The Trophée Chopard dinner, Cannes Film Festival

WHAT: A black-tie dinner (by Argentine chef Mauro Colagreco) and celebration honoring 2019’s recipients of the Trophée Chopard – Florence Pugh and François Civil, two of cinema’s brightest new stars

WHERE: A flower-filled marquee in the grounds of the Palais des Festivals, leading right onto the iconic Croisette beach

WHO: Marion Cotillard, Colin and Livia Firth, Léa Seydoux, James Norton, Elle and Dakota Fanning, Stacy Martin, Diego Luna, Zhang Ziyi, Natalia Vodianova, Catrinel Marlon, Florence Pugh and François Civil

PERFORMANCES: Rossy de Palma

There’s a reason that, since its inception in 1946, Cannes Film Festival has remained the world’s most iconic, glamorous and undeniably romantic celebration of contemporary cinema. Last night the glitterati turned out in full force (and black tie) to celebrate two of the industry’s brightest young things, British actress Florence Pugh and French actor François Civil, the recipients of this year’s Trophée Chopard. The party, held in the grounds of the Palais des Festivals, led directly onto the iconic Croisette beach, where the lapping waves and twinkling lights from distant super-yachts provided a fitting backdrop to the evening’s festivities. There was a heartening sense of community in the air, with previous trophy winners Marion Cotillard and Léa Seydoux – wearing Chanel and Louis Vuitton respectively, and both sporting sparkling Chopard diamonds – turning up to cheer on this year’s prize-winning performers. British actor and social butterfly James Norton was flitting between tables, catching up and cracking jokes with everyone from fellow actor Stacy Martin to guest-of-honor Florence Pugh. Jury member Elle Fanning and her sister Dakota looked ethereal in gowns designed by Prada and Rodarte, although they called it a night rather early after Elle fainted (the Teen Spirit star took to Instagram later in the night to reassure those gathered that she had made a full recovery). When it came to the awards, eco-pioneer Livia Firth, seated with her husband Colin Firth and supermodel Natalia Vodianova, couldn’t contain a whoop of excitement when Chopard co-president Caroline Scheufele mentioned that not only the Chopard Trophée but also the festival’s highly coveted Palme d’Or were produced using 100% sustainable gold. With suitably self-deprecating British humor, Florence Pugh kicked off her acceptance speech by joking that she simply couldn’t bear to watch herself projected on the screen. However, it soon took an emotional turn when she promised her father that she would take his advice, and “stop every once in a while to smell the roses”, assuring the crowd that this was one of those moments. When fellow-honoree François Civil took to the stage he marveled at being given his award by Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, who won the award 19 years earlier for her role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and also starred in Kar-Wai Wong’s 2046, a movie which Civil revealed he has watched “a million times” and which kickstarted his love of cinema. With the formalities complete, Spanish actress Rossy de Palma got the whole room singing with a rendition of Que Sera Sera in honor of Doris Day, who sadly passed away last week. The celebrations went on until the early hours, but some guests still weren’t quite ready to call it a night and strolled down Promenade de la Croisette to another iconic party spot, Le Club by Albane, for a night cap, or two…