The 21st annual Cinema Against AIDS raised a record $35 million last week, helping amfAR in its continued fight against HIV/AIDS.
The star-studded black-tie event was held at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc and was presented by Worldview Entertainment, Bold Films, and BVLGARI.
The evening featured a celebrity-filled live auction, an all-red fashion show curated by Carine Roitfeld, and performances by Robin Thicke, Lana Del Rey, Aloe Blacc, and Andrea Bocelli.
amfAR Fundraising Chairman Sharon Stone and longtime amfAR supporter Harvey Weinstein helped to lead the legendary live auction, along with the evening’s official auctioneer, Simon de Pury. A highlight was the sale of a gilded woolly mammoth skeleton in a colossal steel and glass vitrine, created by renowned artist Damien Hirst. Titled Gone but not Forgotten, the three-meter tall Mammuthus Primigenius, which became extinct over 10,000 years ago, fetched a sum of 15 million dollars. This was the highest grossing lot in amfAR’s history.
BVLGARI Ambassador and former First Lady of France, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, took the stage to introduce a Bulgari “Serpenti” necklace, made of white gold with a 13-ct drop shape Aquamarine and 19.2-ct of pave diamonds. The exquisite piece, a tribute to the sophisticated spirit of amfAR’s late co-founder Dame Elizabeth Taylor, sold for $550,000.
“The Red Collection” fashion show, curated by longtime amfAR supporter Carine Roitfeld, was one of the most dynamic moments of the night. The collection featured one-of-a-kind looks, all in red, from the world’s most celebrated fashion houses. The lot, auctioned by Sharon Stone, sold for 5 million dollars.
Also offered in the auction was the last seat on a flight to space on Virgin Galactic with Leonardo DiCaprio. This incredible opportunity sold for $1 million. A first seat was auctioned at last year’s Cinema Against AIDS Cannes gala.
Stone was once again a Chair of the event, along with amfAR Global Fundraising Ambassador Milutin Gatsby, Harvey Weinstein, amfAR Ambassador Milla Jovovich, Heidi Klum, BVLGARI Ambassador Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, Carine Roitfeld, amfAR Chairman Kenneth Cole, Bulgari Group Chief Executive Officer Jean-Christophe Babin, amfAR Global Fundraising Ambassador Milutin Gatsby, Michel Litvak, Vincent Roberti, Remo Ruffini, Worldview Entertainment Chairman and CEO Christopher Woodrow, and Worldview Entertainment COO Molly Conners.
Other guests in attendance, many of whom participated in the evening’s auction along with the Chairs, included: Gael Garcia Bernal, Justin Bieber, Andrea Bocelli, BVLGARI Ambassador Adrien Brody, Carole Bouquet, Jessica Chastain, Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Marion Cotillard, HRH Princess of Venice Clotilde Courau, Willem Dafoe, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Deneuve, Luke Evans, Jane Fonda, amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost, Adrian Grenier, Lewis Hamilton, Eva Herzigova, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Karlie Kloss, Jon Kortajarena, Karolina Kurkova, Peter Lindbergh, Kellan Lutz, Thomas Mars, Kylie Minogue, Margherita Missoni, Bar Refaeli, Nick Rhodes, Michelle Rodriguez, Vito Schnabel, Lara Stone, Riccardo Tisci, Chris Tucker, Paz Vega and Dita Von Teese, among many others.
Some of the highlights from the unforgettable evening included live performances by internationally renowned musical acts. Multi-platinum selling pop femme fatale Lana Del Rey kicked off the evening with a sultry performance. Musician Aloe Blacc performed the global hit “The Man,” and soulful singer and songwriter Robin Thicke, who performed a set including smash hit “Blurred Lines,” the world’s top-selling song of 2013, closed the night. Guests were also treated to an extraordinary surprise performance by one of the greatest singers in the world, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.
Participating designers in “The Red Collection” included: Alexander McQueen, Alexander Wang, Alexandre Terekhov, Altuzarra, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Cavalli, Chanel, Christian Dior, Christopher Kane, Comme des Garçons, Fendi, Gianvito Rossi, Giambattista Valli, Giorgio Armani, Givenchy, Gucci, Hugo Boss, JW Anderson, Kenneth Cole, Lanvin, Marc Jacobs, Marchesa, Max Mara, Michael Kors, Missoni, Miu Miu, Moncler Gamme Rouge, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Rick Owens, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tom Ford, Versace, and Ulyana Sergeenko, among others.
Forty of the world’s top models participated in the spectacular runway presentation, including Alessandra Ambrosio, Dalianah Arekion, Ana Beatriz Barros, Nadja Bender, Maria Carla Boscono, Katharina Damm, Saskia De Brauw, Jourdan Dunn, Lida Fox, Charlotte Free, Toni Garrn, Veroniek Gielken, Izabel Goulart, Gigi Hadid, Jessica Hart, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Chanel Iman, Jacquelyn Jablonski, Karlie Kloss, Karolina Kurkova, Magda Laguinge, Maryna Linchuk, Angela Lindvall, Sasha Luss, Eniko Mihalik, Arizona Muse, Kati Nescher, Soo Joo Park, Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Irina Shayk, Natalie Siodmiak, Daria Strokous, Iris Stubegger, Lea Tisci, Anne Vyalitsyna, Liu Wen and Devon Windsor.
Guests were treated to a retrospective exhibition of photographs to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Pirelli calendar and featuring the work of Hans Feurer, Norman Parkinson, Richard Avedon, Peter Lindbergh, Herb Ritts, Patrick Demarchelier, Mert and Marcus, Inez and Vinoodh, Peter Beard and Karl Lagerfeld.
Cinema Against AIDS 21 was presented by WORLDVIEW ENTERTAINMENT, BOLD FILMS and BVLGARI. Signature Sponsors were THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY and MERCEDES-BENZ. Moët Hennessy was a Grand Philanthropist.
After the Cinema Against AIDS dinner, guests were invited to an exclusive “After Party,” presented by Moncler.
Since amfAR’s late Founding International Chairman Dame Elizabeth Taylor hosted the first Cinema Against AIDS in 1993, the event has become the most coveted ticket in Cannes. Past events have been chaired by amfAR Global Fundraising Chairman Sharon Stone, President Bill Clinton, Demi Moore, Sir Elton John, and Madonna, among many others.
Like the epidemic itself, AIDS research knows no borders. amfAR’s programs have had a global reach since 1986, when the Foundation began awarding international grants. Today, amfAR continues to fund HIV/AIDS researchers worldwide and works to translate their research into effective policy, prevention, and treatment programs around the globe.
