At the amfAR Gala in Venice, a Celebration of Where Film Meets Philanthropy

During the Venice Film Festival, most of the visitors you’ll see traveling to and from the city’s Lido island are the thousands of film industry and media types—red lanyards around their necks—descending to watch the latest films from the world’s greatest auteurs. Last night, however, an altogether more glamorous crowd descended on the Giovanni Nicelli Airport—an architectural marvel from the 1920s recalling the golden age of travel—to celebrate (and most importantly, raise money for) amfAR, the nonprofit dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and advocacy.

After stepping through the airport’s gilded lobby and out onto an enormous airstrip, Antonio Banderas could be spotted posing in front of a vintage airplane, while models Toni Garrn and Maria Borge mingled with guests clad in glittering sequins and Chopard jewelry, sipping Campari spritzes and negronis as disco music blasted over the speakers. Then, at 9 p.m. on the dot, attendees were ushered into a cavernous aircraft hangar, which had been transformed for the night into a lavish dining room, with tables draped in gold silks and teeming floral centerpieces that hid buckets stocked with Champagne on ice.

The evening’s events kicked off with a heartfelt speech from the night’s host, Kate Beckinsale, thanking everyone for their support and outlining amfAR’s current quest to find a cure for AIDS. Shortly afterward, actor Rumer Willis took to the stage to belt out covers of The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and Adele s “I Drink Wine”—and then, it was onto the first award of the evening, which was presented to Antonio Banderas, who recalled his experiences making Jonathan Demme’s legal drama Philadelphia, the release of which served as a turning point in the public’s understanding of HIV/AIDS and homophobia. More specifically, Banderas recalled filming one scene where the majority of the background actors were gay, and speaking to them afterwards. “I’ll see you at the premiere,” he remembers telling them, to which they replied, “I’m not going to make it to the premiere.” Indeed, many of them did not, but as Banderas put it, “In the future, people will—thanks to organizations like amfAR.”