The Better World Fund event during the 81st edition of the Venice International Film Festival was dedicated to support women’s empowerment through art, and around this theme, the Better World Fund (a non-profit organization) aims to raise public awareness. The Guests of Honor for the Special Masterclass were actress Susan Sarandon and actor, director, and producer Kevin Costner.
The historic and elegant setting of the Hotel Cipriani provided the perfect backdrop for this initiative, promising a perfect blend of cinematic art and philanthropy.
The art of filmmaking in the service of humanity: the Better World Fund’s mission is to raise awareness around this cultural thread.
Since 2016, BWF, Better World Fund, a Paris-based non-profit organization, has been organizing concrete actions, prestigious international events and inspiring cultural programs. Once again this year, it will bring together celebrities, filmmakers and leaders from around the world, all driven by the desire to positively influence the future of our society.
— What are the objectives of the Better World Fund for Manuel Collas de la Roche, Chairman and Founder?
“Deeply humanist, I’m convinced that together we can move mountains by providing concrete solutions to tomorrow’s challenges.
After a career in the cinema, as an actor and producer, spirituality has always been at the center of my life.
In 2016, driven by the desire to participate in this movement of consciousness, I launched the Better World Fund.
I believe in the power of cinema as a vehicle for spreading messages, aimed at raising public awareness of the major issues facing our planet and that of our children. My wish is to keep hope alive by doing my “hummingbird’s share” as a global citizen, for the good of all. ”
The Better World Fund rewards film personalities committed to social and environmental causes. For each event, BWF financially supports one (or more) humanitarian project run by one (or more) non-profit organization.
“Everywhere in the world, men and women are creating, innovating and taking action to combat climate change, social inequality, culture and education. The Better World Fund’s ambition is to highlight and financially support these hopeful actions.
Thanks to the generosity of our partners and participants, we are proud to have helped numerous associations and foundations during our successful programs and events. Whether at the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival, Los Angeles, Toronto, Monaco, Cairo, New York, Saudi Arabia or Expo 2020 in Dubai.”
– At the heart of film festivals like Venice, how is the Better World Fund helping to raise awareness among celebrities, directors, producers… about making a positive impact on the world?
For Manuel Collas de la Roche, “We are convinced that today’s film industry plays a statutory role as a vehicle for social, educational and environmental values. Raising awareness is an essential pillar of the arts, as is the need to offer greater visibility to hard-hitting, committed films, all driven by the desire to have a positive impact on the world.
A case in point is the intervention at the recent Césars 2023: personalities from French cinema called for awareness of an “ecological way of life”. This mobilization mirrors our own. Cinema has a role to play in the face of ecological crises, say the authors, “that of helping to change the way the world is represented”. The ambition is to imagine “an ‘ecological way of life’, in which our relationship with the living world and the meaning of our civilizations are reexamined”. With this in mind, many production companies are taking responsible measures and managing their films in this way.
With this in mind, for this Venetian edition we have chosen to support the Donà dalle Rose Foundation, an organization that promotes culture and humanitarian actions in Italy and the rest of the world.
— How does the Better Word Fund differ from other charity events?
Better World Fund stands out for its unique and disruptive format, offering a rich program full of meaning and hope. Over the course of the event, led by inspiring and emblematic personalities who are experts in their fields – social, educational, cultural or environmental – we’ll be helping to find concrete solutions to the problems facing our world today and our future.
Our conferences add an extra dimension to the Festival, thanks to the talent of our speakers and the inspiring, hard-hitting themes they propose. This masterclass is particularly noteworthy as it marks the first-ever masterclass by Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon, two icons in the film industry known for their deep commitment to humanitarian causes
Masterclass with two exceptional guest of honor as the actress Susan Sarandon and actor, director, producer Kevin Costner.
It was an amazing opportunity to ask Kevin Kostner about the rôle of women in the films that he has directed. – « Why was it important for you to give such a place of woman in a Western? “
“Well, for me, it’s fairly obvious. I don’t like a lot of westerns. I like eight or nine, and the rest of them I don’t like. They don’t work for me. They’re too simple. They leave too much out. And one of the things that’s almost always missing is women. It’s just I know things are better when women are a part”…said Costner
“They, women of the west worked themselves to death. They were worked to death. They spent 24 hours trying to keep their family and their children clean and to make food, and they were worked to death. I. Every time I started to write a storyline, it’s centred around a woman. We, as men, behave differently when they are. I know sets are better when there’s women on them”.
Another question for the Hollywood star – “What are the women who really inspired you, either today or in your childhood?”things, you know, what would you do for women to get more equality? Especially, of course, in the movie industry?
“Well, my mother protected me. She protected my daydreaming and didn’t think of it as being lazy. She said, no, you keep thinking. You keep doing that.
My father thought daydreaming was a code for being lazy. She understood. Listen, I. You know, there’s Susan (Sarandon) who’s in the room, and I learned a lot from her. I mean, this is a really brave woman, a brave actress, a friend. I mean, really somebody in our business that stands for a lot and pays a price for it. You know, that thing that we love the most in America that we feel pride ourselves on that freedom of speech….And I just love you. I just support you. And I just, you know, I really do Sue”.
If you were a magician and you can change things, you know, what would you do for women to get more equality? Especially, of course, in the movie industry?
“If I was a magician, I’d just snap my f***king fingers. Right. For everything. Yeah. Well, it has been a struggle for women. It seems like forever, but it’s moving. Women are standing their ground. You know, I see women as my equal. I don’t look at. That’s why I’m not a magician. That’s why I’m not Yoda. I don’t know how to fix all this. But I do know there is no difference. And for too long, there has been. There has been.”
Susan Sarandon also answered some questions regarding the women empowerment and her experience in the cinema.
We asked Susan – “Who are the woman who really inspired you?”
“Mothers inspires me. As Kevin said, you know, I think that women, when I went off to do stepmom and I was explaining to my youngest was five, and I always, when I went to work, explained once I had kids why, you know, what the movie was going to be about, why I was doing it and everything. And I said, this woman dies. And she said, well, you can’t die. You’re the glue that holds the family together. And I think women are the glue. It’s one of the reasons I think women producers are often more direct, because they’re problem solving as opposed to ego driven. A lot of complications I’ve seen on sets have been because of ego problems, either between the leading man and the producers or the student, the director and the producers. And women are problem solvers. I don’t think that having a vagina necessarily makes you a good person.
I don’t think a lot of. I mean, you have Margaret Thatcher and, you know, leaders that are women. It doesn’t necessarily mean that their policy is going to be any different, and sometimes it’s even worse.
So I think choosing. Choosing leaders now just culturally because of their gender or color is not helpful. But I do think that innately, women carry the eggs, and they’re the nurturers, if you’re going to generalize. And so I admire mothers. I admire anyone who keeps going and stands their ground and does it with joy. I mean, Sister Helen from dead man walking, she can drink you under the table. You know, she loves life.
She’s a laugher. She’s an eater. She. You know, the people that take on these kind of joy is the. Joy is one of the most powerful weapon.
And so the women that I’ve seen, whether they’re aid workers in Lesbos or whether or not they’re in Nicaragua during the revolution, or, you know, they were joyful. They were singing and dancing. And so I think we have to hold on to our joy.
And I think women that I really respect, that I’ve seen in taking very brave positions or just continuing fucking on, you know, against the odds, trying to raise your kids with no money and, you know, in a world that’s really tough right now, also have joy. And I. And so I would say ordinary women doing extraordinary things.”
The Masterclass has been moderated by Guila Clara Kessous. Social entrepreneur and executive coach, she uses theatrical techniques and role-playing games as tools that can not only enhance corporate communication, but help heal those who have suffered from prior trauma, especially women.
Giula Clara has been nominated a “UNESCO Artist for Peace”, notably in link with her work in collaboration with Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Malala Yousafza.
> Women in diplomacy
Featuring :
JACQUELINE ISAAC,
International Lawyer
CLAIRE STRIDE,
Neuroscience specialist
> Sustainable Fashion
Moderated by Enzo di Taranto, Former Campaign Manager of the United Nations Secretary-General in New York
Featuring:
ALINA KUDERSKA,
CEO of Sparkies
NATALIYA RESH,
Philanthropist
> Cinema pannel
VALENTINA CASTELLANI-QUINN,
Movie producer
ILARIA FRECCIA,
Award Winning Screen Writer /Director
SILVIA BIZIO,
Writer, Producer, Golden Globes Associate
ALESSANDRA SPECIALE,
Festival Director and Venice Film Festival Selection Team
DEBORAH ZARA KOBYLT,
Award Winning Journalist CNN – Turner Entertainment
Better World Fund is also known for its gala evenings, whether in Venice, Dubai, Cannes. For Manuel Collas de la Roche, “As we do every year, we do our utmost to ensure that this evening, which is all about the heart, is unforgettable for our guests. ”
Guests of Honor: Susan Sarandon & Kevin Costner
On September 5, the gala dinner at the prestigious Hotel Cipriani featured a performance by opera singer Anna Sanachina, an awards ceremony and an auction to benefit the Donà dalle Rose Foundation.
Manuel Collas de la Roche’s inspiration: “25 years ago, I had the good fortune to meet Matha Amritanandamayi, an exceptional Indian woman, better known as ‘Amma’, who has dedicated her life to international humanitarian projects, including her NGO ‘Embracing the World’. “Amma has been a source of inspiration, as her relationship to the world, the way she ’embraces’ it, embodies for me the way we should look at the relationship between man, nature and our planet.”
About the Better World Fund
After our prestigious events at the Cannes International Film Festival, in Monaco, in Cairo, at the Venice Film Festival, in New York and in Dubai for the World Expo EXPO 2020 and in 2022, for its 11th edition, the Better World Endowment Fund has once again chosen Cannes to highlight new avenues for decisive action, by supporting meaningful projects. From image to action, the Better World Forum joins forces with partners to create a forum bringing together filmmakers, writers, scientists, environmental specialists and innovative project leaders, with the aim of sparking concrete initiatives to preserve and protect ecosystems.
Here are some of our latest projects:En décembre 2021, lors de l’Expo 2020 à Dubaï, nous avons attiré l’attention sur les personnes handicapées et promu des organisations caritatives dédiées, notamment l’organisation philanthropique mondiale Dubai Cares :
- In March 2022, as part of Expo 2020 in Dubai and the United Nations’ Oceans Fortnight, we focused on ocean preservation and the importance of the blue economy.
- In May and September 2022, at the Cannes and Venice film festivals, we dedicated our actions to raising funds and awareness of global inequalities, particularly those linked to food, health and sustainability.
Among previous winners and participants, we are honored to have welcomed Nobel Prize, Academy, Globe and Grammy Award winners, such as H.S.H. Prince Albert II, Sharon Stone, Forest Whitaker, Wim Wenders, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Mary J. Blige, Akon and Yann Arthus-Bertrand, His Excellency DR Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate and Environment of the U.A.E., His Excellency Simon Stiel, Minister of Climate for the Government of Grenada, Andrew Forrest Minderro, Foundation Australia, Dennis Mukwege, as well as Chief Raoni, Lang Lang, H.E. Tamara Vučić, Tosca Musk and many others
This year, donations will go to:
Fondazione Donà dalle Rose, located in Venice, is dedicated to promoting culture, art, and philanthropy. Each year, the foundation hosts “THE DOGE VENICE RED CARPET,” a prestigious event coinciding with the Venice Biennale. This event showcases cultural activities and supports various charitable initiatives, emphasizing the foundation’s commitment to fostering creativity and historical preservation.
The partners for the Venice 2024 edition:
L. Raphael Geneve
Luxury Limited Edition
Hotel Nani Mocenigo Palace
Joanna Plafsky Films
Squair Law
Maia Wine
3.14 Casino Cannes
Hope Giver Campaign
Quinn Studios Entertainment
