Barry Jenkins and Isaac Julien are two giants of filmmaking, whose creative sensibilities have much in common. Both have produced work that has profoundly shaped contemporary culture: Jenkins’s 2016 Academy Award-winning film Moonlight is a sensitive portrayal of Black masculinity, while Julien has been at the forefront of Black British filmmaking for over three decades. In this episode, we bring them together for the very first time, in London, for a conversation about portraying vulnerability, the art of adapting literary texts, and the influence of beauty, music, and memory on their work.

What is the nature of authentic creativity in a world of artificial intelligence? In this episode, artist Sarah Meyohas, whose practice explores the technologies that are transforming society, speaks to Albert Read, the managing director of Condé Nast Britain and author of The Imagination Muscle. His brilliant book is a guide to honing our human skills of creation in a complex and increasingly automated world. Together, they discuss originality, authorship, and the enduring power of the artist.

Artist Amy Sillman is renowned for her oil paintings that defy categorisation. She has been at the helm of a new wave of artists - most of them women - who over the last decade have reinvigorated abstraction. Amy connects with celebrated writer Sheila Heti, whose books, including Pure Colour (2022) and Motherhood (2018), blur the lines between fiction and memoir, creating new and original ways to understand lived experience: motherhood, art, and mortality. In this episode, they discuss how they each embrace ambiguity with purpose.

In this episode, food visionaries unite: Ruthie Rogers, the legendary chef behind The River Café in London, talks to Jon Gray, Co-Founder of the Bronx-based collective Ghetto Gastro. They discuss their recent cookbooks which challenge accepted conventions - from photography and recipe instructions, to the availability and distribution of fresh ingredients. Both are committed to community and are champions of collaboration, focused on the intersection of culture and food, their legacies, and the power of partnership.

In this episode we bring together a cinematic legend and a rising star: the Academy Award-winning actor Penélope Cruz, whose performances in independent film and Hollywood blockbusters have been captivating audiences for more than three decades. She connects with Carla Simón, a director who has introduced Catalan cinema to new, global audiences by drawing on her rural upbringing. The duo connects in Madrid for the first time and discuss politics, parenthood, and the bravery of taking the space to breathe.

Two good friends are working at the intersection of art and architecture from very different angles. Award-winning architect Frida Escobedo is currently renovating the contemporary wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. José Esparza Chong Cuy, Chief Curator of Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York, is changing public engagement with both disciplines. The two of them discuss the magic of Lina Bo Bardi, the connections between art and architecture, and how Mexico has influenced both of their work.

Rachel Rose is known for her intricate video installations which investigate our changing understanding of the world - from labour in 17th-century England, to explorations of outer space. In this episode she connects with fellow artist Aria Dean, who uses film and sculpture to produce meditations on Blackness and artistic theory. Their conversation digs deep into the contemporary art world: their multidisciplinary practices - including film, sculpture, and installation, the use of memes as critique, and how the weight of history inspires them.

This episode features two audacious talents shaking up the film industry - in front of, and behind the camera. Savanah Leaf came to film as a former Olympic volleyball player and her debut feature, Earth Mama, recently premiered at Sundance Film Festival to widespread acclaim. Margaret Qualley has already worked with some of the best directors in cinema, from Claire Denis and Quentin Tarantino to Yorgos Lanthimos and Ethan Coen. The multi-hyphenate duo sit down in New York for a conversation about their journeys so far.

Kelsey Lu is a classically trained musician whose work is defined by otherworldly electro-classical sound, and by collaborations with artists including Solange and Blood Orange. Yinka Ilori is known for creating bold, colourful designs informed by his British-Nigerian heritage, often focused on accessibility and inclusion. Challenging us to think in new ways, Yinka and Kelsey Lu discuss the influence of the natural world on their respective practices, and the immersive power of music and art. They begin their conversation by exploring how joy feeds their creativity.

Welcome to the third season of Chanel CONNECTS.

In this series, we bring together global change makers from the worlds of food, film, art, architecture and beyond. Some are old friends and collaborators, others are meeting for the first time. All are focused on what matters most, and what happens next. And now, we get to listen in.