Fun, Philanthropy, and Artists for Peace and Justice: The 2012 Festival Lunch raised $550,000 for Haiti!

On September 9th, 2012, we held our fourth annual Toronto Film Festival fundraiser to benefit our programs in Haiti. This year’s event was held at the University of Toronto President’s Estate, a beautiful outdoor venue, and was co-hosted by Trudie Styler, Jude Law and APJ Canada Board Member George Stroumboulopoulos.

Guests were treated to truly incredible performances from Chantal Kreviazuk, Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace, K’Naan and Arcade Fire, and among the revelers were Alexander Skarsgard, Ian Somerhalder, Claire Forlani, the Property Brothers and Alison Mosshart of the Kills. K’Naan’s poignant performance struck home with the audience, as guests sang along to the lyrics, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the dark.”

For the finale, Arcade Fire strummed through the crowd and ended up on stage, giving a rousing performance of “Sprawl II” and then “Haiti,” a particularly moving song for our event. As Arcade Fire has been supporting work in Haiti for years, lead singer Win Butler gave an impassioned speech echoing the words of CEO David Belle urging all guests to be generous in their support. It worked – the afternoon raised $550,000 for our programs in Haiti. Thank you, Toronto! See you next year.

ARTISTS FOR HAITI – Artists for Peace and Justice from Ciné Institute on Vimeo.

Artists for Haiti was co-founded by Ben Stiller and David Zwirner, following a joint trip to Haiti a year after the devastating earthquake. The nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization awards grants to selected charities in support of children’s education and health initiatives in the country. Artists for Haiti hired Ciné Institute graduates to film institutional portraits of their beneficiaries including Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ). APJ supports communities in Haiti through programs in education, healthcare, and dignity through the arts.

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!