On May 18th, Artists for Peace and Justice was honored to host Haiti: Carnival in Cannes with our friends JPHRO and Happy Hearts Fund at the Cannes Film Festival.

The benefit was presented by Giorgio Armani to support our three organizations and our work in Haiti. The event was the first of its kind for the Cannes Film Festival, and raised over $2M for Haiti.

An exciting crowd including Gerard Butler, Diane Kruger, Jessica Chastain, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Ewan McGregor, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tom Hardy, Robert De Niro, Sean Combs, Joshua Jackson, Michelle Rodriguez, and more attended the event. Event Chairs Giorgio Armani, Roberta Armani, CAA’s Bryan Lourd, MPAA Chairman and CEO Chris Dodd and the Festival’s own Thierry Frémaux were also in attendance. Singer/songwriter Lyle Lovett performed three songs for the intimate gathering, Haitian Ra Ra band RAM danced down the red carpet, and Haitian president Michel Martelly gave a video speech in appreciation of the work of the three organizations.

The event featured a live auction with a variety of once in a lifetime experiences and items for guests to bid on, including an impromptu auction item from Sean Penn: the chance to spend three days on the ground with him in Haiti. The experience went to three bidders, each paying over $128,000. Bono’s guitar and a backstage meet-and-greet with him at one of his shows went for over $215,000, while a lunch with a Victoria’s Secret Angel – along with VIP access to their 2012 fashion show – sold for over $115,000. APJ supporter Elon Musk donated the opportunity to spend the day with him at SpaceX and Tesla, and the item went for over $80,000.

We look forward to doing more good for Haiti at Cannes in the future!