In the early 20th century, the cinema’s “silver screen” was prescribed such a title because of the metallic silver and aluminum paint that manufacturers coated theater screens in order to brighten reflectivity and make images sharper. While we might laugh at such DIY efforts to render projections all the more magnifying, it's worth noting that even since its earliest days, film has always been an illustrious, shimmering affair.

At the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ 6th annual Gala, luxury jewelry house Cartier announced the arrival of the Cartier Cinema Club in Los Angeles. As a new international program dedicated to embodying the spirit of cinema among diverse creative communities across the globe, the Cartier Cinema Club specializes in bringing screenings, masterclasses, and first-hand encounters with talent to the public eye. Melding together those who admire cinema and those who make it, Cartier Cinema Club thrives by harboring spaces for shared artistic dialogue—free from the barriers to entry that such a glamorous maison might imbue, while still preserving a degree of bedazzling, creative excellence. And what better place to hold such a conversation than Hollywood itself?

The Cartier Cinema Club celebrated their arrival in the Golden State by partnering with Cartier ambassador and renowned actor, Jacob Elordi. In collaboration with the American Cinematheque at Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, Elordi selected John Cassavetes’ Opening Night to be screened to the public, which he voiced as a formative work in his journey as an actor and lover of visual arts. Paired with a cocktail lunch and moderated by screenwriter Kim Morgan, Elordi and Anora director Sean Baker discussed the film’s influences on their filmographies and specific tastes in cinema.

With a rich history in cinema, the craftsmanship and symbolism of Maison Cartier has always run hand in hand with Hollywood distinction. 100 years ago on the set of The Son of the Sheik (1926), Rudolph Valentino refused to take off his Tank watch while filming. Later, Jean Cocteau asked Cartier to help out with Beauty and the Beast’s (1946) Josette Day weep diamond tears. From Gloria Swanson’s diamond bracelets in Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Grace Kelly’s engagement ring in High Society (1956), Cartier has remained adamantly in the starlight for generations. As a symbol of curated virtue and, now in Los Angeles, as a space granting free creative expression, Cartier relishes—and will forever relish—in the most silver of screens.