amfAR Raises $25 Million at Star Studded Cannes Event

Celebrities, fashion designers, and auteurs — including Leonardo Di Caprio, Katy Perry, Uma Thurman, designer Olivier Rousteing, and The Village People (pictured)  —  were among those who attended The Foundation for AIDS Research's 23rd Annual Cinema Against AIDS gala held Thursday night at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden Roc, located outside of Cannes in the south of France.

Timed to correspond with the Cannes Film Festival, the annual event is a fundraiser for amfAR's HIV cure research. Hosted by Kevin Spacey, this year's disco-themed event raised over $25 million.

New York Magazine's Jada Yuan raved: “The highlight, as it is every year, though, was when the lights came down for a 32-look fashion show curated by Carine Roitfeld and to be sold off as a collection. 'Each girl is a disco ball, okay?' she'd told me earlier. 'Very, very disco, full of glitter, full of diamonds, Harry Winston, and all the beautiful girls!' There was Doutzen! And Liya! And Karlie! And Lara Stone! And Isabeli Fontana!”

The event has been a frequent hot spot for heists, due to the dozens of diamonds on hand, both worn by guests and auctioned off, so there were nearly as many bodyguards in attendance as guests. Early AIDS activist, and diamond lover Elizabeth Taylor would have felt right at home!

Among others in attendance were: Harvey Weinstein, Dame Helen Mirren, amfAR Ambassador Milla Jovovich, Heidi Klum, Faye Dunaway, Adrien Brody, and amfAR Chairman Kenneth Cole. Kevin Spacey hosted the evening in character throughout the night as Johnny Carson, Bill Clinton, Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, and his own creation, Frank Underwood.

amfAR’s “Countdown to a Cure for AIDS,” which the evening helped support, is a research initiative aimed at finding a broadly applicable cure for HIV by 2020. 

Pictured Above: The Village People pose for photographers upon arrival for the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS benefit at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, during the 69th Cannes international film festival, Cap d'Antibes, southern France, May 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)