Robin Wright, Olga Kurylenko, Charles Finch, Naomie Harris and Noomi Rapace attend the annual Finch's Quarterly Review Filmmakers Dinner. Getty Images

CAP D'ANTIBES, France—The Cannes Film Festival takes place in relatively tight quarters, so movie stars are unavoidable as you go about your business on the Croisette.

They make appearances at their premieres at the Palais and some of the parties. You will inevitably stumble into them as you flit in and out of the four major hotels in town: the Martinez, the JW Marriott, the Majestic and the Carlton.

But when it comes to stargazing, there is no place like the isolated Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, affectionately referred to as the "du Cap," about a half an hour ride from Cannes.

Bryan Ferry and his sons, Isaac and Tara Ferry Getty Images

Bernardo Bertolucci and Christoph Waltz Getty Images

Jeremy Thomas and Vivien Coughman Getty Images

Model Karolina Kurkova and screenwriter Alan Trustman. Getty Images

Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton and Jamiroquai's Jay Kay Getty Images

Naomi Watts attends the 'For the Love of Cinema' event Getty Images

Since it feels a world away from the frenetic energy of the festival, not to mention its prying paparazzi and the streets of sardine-packed voyeurs, the smart movie studios put their talent up at the du Cap. That's how you remain in the business of keeping the talent happy.

And the Eden Roc, the hotel's restaurant, tends to be where the more refined dinner parties take place, for example, the annual one thrown by Charles Finch, a London-based talent manager, brand consultant, newspaper publisher (Finch's Quarterly Review) and jack-of-all-trades.

It is at this enchanting evening where an excessive week at Cannes is pared down to its bare and important essentials. At this year's, which took place on Friday, was sponsored by Chopard and had vodka courtesy of Belvedere, there were a few important actors on hand, mostly of the international variety: Naomie Harris, who played Moneypenny in "Skyfall": Noomi Rapace, who played the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in the Swedish adaptations of the book; Alicia Vikander, who recently booked a starring role opposite Tom Cruise in a big screen version of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."; and Robin Wright, so good in the Netflix series "House of Cards."

But for the most part, Mr. Finch's is an intellectual, media and entertainment crowd, full of important players who appreciate cinema—from Sony 6758.TO -0.83% Sony Corp. Japan: Tokyo ¥1674 -14 -0.83% July 11, 2014 3:00 pm Volume (Delayed 20m) : 5.70M P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap ¥1763.47 Billion Dividend Yield 1.49% Rev. per Employee ¥55,119,700 07/10/14 Aereo's Bid for Comeback Hinge... 07/10/14 Asustek Uses Low-Cost Smartpho... 07/09/14 Read an Exclusive Excerpt of '... More quote details and news » Pictures Classics' Michael Barker to the New York producer Ed Pressman to the London producer Jeremy Thomas to Bryan Ferry and his two handsome sons—and, more important, appreciate conversation.

The evening's elegant presentation matched its guests. During cocktails, Champagne was served opposite glasses of pamplemousse juice and the only hors d'oeuvre: Parmesan sticks. Accompanying all of this, a piano player performed tunes like "Don't Worry, Be Happy." Dinner: a buffet of sushi, steak tartare, lamb chops, smoked salmon and…well, the list goes on. In closing: a brief appreciation of the work of the great filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci.

It was all pretty chic.

"Bertolucci has taught us that it's all about movies, beautiful things and leading a good life," said Mr. Finch, who jokingly encouraged donations to Mr. Bertolucci, but only after donations were made first to Finch's Quarterly. "You don't always have to be commercial. You can make things for the beauty of them."

On Sunday, the watch company IWC hosted a larger dinner in the same room "for the love of cinema." This was a more corporate affair than Mr. Finch's, with a bit more pomp and circumstance. For one, there was an absurd amount of security, so getting into the Eden Roc was like getting into Fort Knox.

This security was ostensibly protecting the actors Naomi Watts, Christoph Waltz and Rooney Mara, as well as the watches on display. Also attending were several members of the jet set—including Tim and Malin Jefferies; Anne McNally; Jean Pigozzi; Karolina Kurkova; Christopher Burch; Tamara Beckwith and the Italian property-magnate Giorgio Veroni; and Nicolas Berggruen—and some Hollywood agents, managers, Fox Searchlight's Claudia Lewis ; Focus Features' Jeb Brody and the film directors McG and J.C. Chandor.

After Aloe Blacc sang "The Windmills of Your Mind," the theme song of "The Thomas Crown Affair," IWC briefly recognized the cinematic contributions of Alan Trustman, that film's screenwriter. He was asked by IWC CEO Georges Kearn to discuss Steve McQueen.

"I wrote 'The Thomas Crown Affair' for Sean Connery," Mr. Trustman said. "I was outraged when they cast Steve McQueen. He couldn't remember a sentence longer than five words." (Industry parties: You can't make this stuff up.)

After dinner, IWC invited even more people to move into the Amfar tent for a concert by Jamiroquai, a band that had a hit single in 1997 with "Virtual Insanity."

But those in the know skipped the show and slipped quietly over to the real centerpiece of the du Cap: its hotel lobby where the A-list celebrities are known to drink an adult beverage (or 12 of them) until the wee small hours of the morning.

Sunday night didn't disappoint. Mingling until well past 2 a.m. were Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac and Garrett Hedlund, all in town for the premiere of the new Coen Brothers movie, "Inside Llewyn Davis." Joining them were Ms. Watts and Ms. Mara, Jessica Biel, Frances McDormand, Uma Thurman, Kirsten Dunst, Keanu Reeves and Paris Hilton.

Here, the gossip flowed as rapidly as the bellinis—or as Ms. Dunst prefers, the du Cap's La Vie En Rose, fashioned with raspberry juice instead of peach purée. These drinks cost €34 (more than $40) each. Just think about what ordering a dozen or so of those will do to a film studio's bill, and then maybe hiring Jamiroquai to sing "Virtual Insanity" at your party in Cannes starts to make a lot more sense.

Write to Marshall Heyman at