Cannes AmfAR 2016
Cannes AmfAR 2016

Cannes AmfAR 2016, Giampaolo Loconte among the Italian guests

Now in its 23rd edition, the amfAR - Cinema Against AIDS has reached this year again a high degree of popularity, not only because of the participation of international celebrities such as Sharon Stone, Adrien Brody, Katy Perry, Kevin Spacey (to name a few), but also thanks to the impressive amount of 170 million dollars raised by the organization and destined to AIDS research funds. The event, or "party" -as they call it in France- took place in Cannes, wonderful location famous for its cinema festival. In fact amfAR - Cinema Against AIDS is itself a cinema festival, considering the artists’ attendance and the presence of an auction (the actual source of donations) containing memorabilia offered by the movie stars themselves, such as a Banksy artwork belonging to the private collection of Leonardo Di Caprio or a bag personally designed by Sharon Stone. Even a dinner for 12 people at Andrea Bocelli’s house was sold for 2 million dollars! In short, given the just cause, prizes and items for sale are bizarre and glamorous beyond all expectations.

Among the stars that took part in the amfAR party, there was also an Italian personality, who certainly does not have the cinematic appeal of Sharon Stone or Leonardo Di Caprio – hoping he will not hold it against us- but still raises great interest in the world of international finance: the baron Giampaolo Lo Conte, financial broker operating between Europe and the United States.

His Italian residence is in Rome and he also took part in amfAR - Cinema Against AIDS, as he did for many other festivals in his own country, in order to offer his valuable contribution in funding research initiatives against AIDS. "It is a beautiful party, immense, genuine and very talked-about - Giampaolo Lo Conte said, as we reached him for a short interview. "It is rare to find so many international celebrities all gathered up in a single location and especially all sharing one common goal, which is that of supporting research to fight AIDS". As a matter of fact, the incredible quantity of news on the web regarding this event clearly reflects the great attendance of VIPs at the Cannes party. "I know this year the record of 25 million dollars collected in just 4 hours was reached - Giampaolo Lo Conte adds, and this is indeed confirmed by several sources on the web. "The field of scientific research is in critical need for financial support. AIDS, along with stroke, cancer and heart disease, is among the leading causes of death in the world, but thankfully our scientific community is taking important steps forward in the fight against these pathologies."