The first rule of amfAR is you don’t talk about how you got to amfAR.
By that, I don’t mean how you got into the amfAR gala, i.e. how you landed a seat at the glitziest annual event of the Cannes Film Festival, which for my delightful table-mates in the back left corner of the room involved donating art or an electric vehicle for auction, knowing a wealthy media mogul who had extra invites, or paying 17,000 euros per plate. Once there, one could bask in a beautiful evening of free-flowing champagne; performances from Robbie Williams, Zara Larsson and Lizzo; the presence of Rami Malek, Eva Longoria, Heidi Klum, reality TV great Maura Higgins, and host Geena Davis, auctioning off Warhols and rare Marilyn Monroe photographs, and the chance to help raise millions of euros for AIDS research.
No, the dirty secret no one ever talks about is the actual transport to and from the gala itself, all the way out at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Rock on the tip of Antibes, a 30-minute drive from downtown Cannes. For those fortunate enough to have a car and driver, or to already be staying at one of the most exclusive hotels on the Mediterranean (or even better, on one of the mega yachts docked just offshore), it’s easy. For everyone else, including this freelance journalist without an expense account, the approach is more like a military-level obstacle course designed to test your cunning and will.
