VENICE WITH PURPOSE: INSIDE THE BETTER WORLD FUND GALA FOR HUMANITY

James W. Phillips, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Relentless Magazine, reflects on an extraordinary day in Venice where cinema, glamour and influence came together for something far more important.

By James W. Phillips, Editor-in-Chief, Relentless Magazine

There are few places in the world that understand theatre quite like Venice.

Arriving during the Venice International Film Festival, the city seems to exist somewhere between reality and cinema. Water taxis sweep across the lagoon, historic palazzos provide a backdrop that no film set could convincingly reproduce, and an international collection of actors, filmmakers, philanthropists, entrepreneurs and personalities descends upon one of the world’s most beautiful cities. It is glamorous. Unashamedly so.

But on 8 September, amid all the excitement surrounding the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, I attended an event that demonstrated how that glamour and influence can also be harnessed for something much more meaningful.

The Better World Fund Venice 2026 gathering took place at the historic Procuratie Vecchie in St Mark’s Square under the banner “Cinema & Art at the Service of Humanity.” Its focus this year encompassed women’s rights, gender equality and education, with Egypt celebrated as the Country of Honour. betterworld.fund

For me, it encapsulated something I have increasingly come to believe: luxury and influence are at their most powerful when they have purpose.

A VERY DIFFERENT SIDE OF THE VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

I have been fortunate through Relentless to attend some extraordinary events, meet fascinating people and experience places that many of us associate with the glamorous side of international life. Venice during the Film Festival certainly delivers on that front. Yet what struck me about the Better World Fund was the contrast.

You had all the ingredients one expects from Venice — an extraordinary location, elegant guests, a red carpet, beautiful surroundings, cocktails and a gala dinner — but beneath it was a serious conversation about how cinema, art and those fortunate enough to possess a public platform can help create change.

The programme began during the day with the forum “Stories, Scripts, Screens: Can We Sculpt a Better World through Cinema?”, exploring the potential of storytelling and filmmaking to influence society. That was followed in the evening by the Gala for Humanity, combining the red carpet and cocktails with a gala dinner, charity auction and the Better World Awards. betterworld.fund It made for a fascinating combination.

WHEN THE RED CARPET BECOMES A PLATFORM

We naturally associate major film festivals with premieres, celebrities, fashion, photographers and parties. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying that spectacle. I certainly do. But there is another question worth asking: what happens when you take the enormous attention generated by an event such as Venice and direct some of it towards causes that desperately need to be heard? That, to me, is where the Better World Fund becomes particularly interesting.

The organisation’s stated mission is built around collaboration — bringing together people, organisations and resources to increase awareness of major global challenges and translate that visibility into positive action. betterworld.fund Walking into an event of this nature reminds you of the extraordinary cross-section of people who converge around international cinema.

Film and art possess an ability to cross borders that few industries can replicate. A story created in one country can affect someone thousands of miles away who speaks another language, follows another religion and has experienced an entirely different life. That cultural power should never be underestimated.

AN EVENING IN THE HEART OF VENICE

And then, of course, there was the setting. The Procuratie Vecchie sits directly on St Mark’s Square. For an event exploring the intersection between art, humanity and influence, it would be difficult to imagine somewhere more atmospheric. This was not glamour manufactured inside a purpose-built convention centre.

This was Venice. Centuries of architecture and culture outside the doors. The international Film Festival unfolding around us. Guests arriving dressed for an occasion. Conversations beginning over cocktails and continuing around the dinner tables. There is something particularly special about evenings like this because the people you meet can be as interesting as the programme itself. One conversation leads to another. Introductions are made. Ideas emerge. People who might ordinarily inhabit completely different worlds suddenly find themselves around the same table. And sometimes that is where genuinely worthwhile things begin.

HONOURING ACTION, NOT SIMPLY PROFILE

An important part of the evening was the Better World Awards. Rather than celebrating celebrity simply for the sake of celebrity, the awards recognise commitment, achievement and engagement in humanitarian and social causes. The Fund’s previous beneficiaries include figures from cinema, culture, philanthropy and public life, among them Prince Albert II of Monaco, Kevin Costner, Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, Isabelle Huppert, Sharon Stone, Lang Lang and Chief Raoni. betterworld.fund

The 2026 Venice gathering recognised figures including Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat, philanthropic leader Beth Powell, cultural advocate Via Lemann, Julian Mylchreest representing the Amazônia Fund Alliance Program, and Anwar Elkamony, founder of the Hope Giver Campaign.

What I particularly liked was the emphasis on tangible contribution. It is easy to talk about changing the world. It is considerably harder to actually do something.

THE AMAZON: FROM WORDS TO ACTION

One of the initiatives highlighted in Venice was the Amazônia Fund Alliance Program, a global alliance established to protect the Brazilian Amazon and support Indigenous communities. The figures behind one of its 2026 initiatives are striking. According to the Better World Fund, a €500,000 donation from an AFAP benefactor helped secure and preserve 20,501 hectares of forest and biodiversity in Acre, returning the land to the Huni Kui people. The programme also supported Raoni, a film dedicated to Chief Raoni and directed by Alexandre Bouchet. betterworld.fund

That is when an evening like this becomes more than an elegant gathering. There is a direct line between visibility, relationships, funding and action. And that matters.

THE HUMAN SIDE OF LUXURY

Running Relentless has given me an interesting relationship with the word luxury. We feature extraordinary hotels, yachts, cars, fashion, jewellery, travel and experiences. I love that world and make no apology for celebrating beautiful things and remarkable craftsmanship. But increasingly, I believe modern luxury has to mean more than simply displaying what something costs.

Luxury can also be access. It can be time. It can be freedom. It can be education, health and opportunity. And, perhaps most importantly, it can be having the ability to help someone else who does not have those things. That was something I found myself thinking about throughout the Better World Fund evening.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE NUMBERS

The event also supported the work of the Akbaraly Foundation, whose programmes particularly focus on women and children’s health, cancer prevention and early detection, maternal health and vulnerable communities. The Foundation states that it has delivered more than 300,000 healthcare services, including over 80,000 breast cancer screenings, 75,000 cervical cancer screenings and 22,000 paediatric consultations, while its awareness and screening campaigns have reached more than one million people. betterworld.fund

Those statistics are impressive. But statistics can also make enormous human issues feel strangely distant. Behind every number is somebody’s mother, daughter, father, son, friend or partner. That is where storytelling becomes so important. And it brings us back to cinema.

STORIES CAN CHANGE THINGS

As a publisher, I am naturally biased towards the power of stories. Relentless exists because I believe interesting people and extraordinary journeys deserve platforms. Cinema does that on an altogether different scale. A compelling film can take an issue most of us know almost nothing about and suddenly make it personal. It can turn statistics into faces, distant conflicts into human stories and abstract problems into something we understand emotionally. The Better World Fund’s premise — putting cinema and art at the service of humanity — therefore resonates strongly with me.

It is not about pretending a film, magazine article or glamorous gala can solve the world’s problems overnight. They cannot. But they can make somebody look. They can make somebody listen. They can start a conversation. And sometimes they can put the right people in the same room to actually do something.

MY VENICE TAKEAWAY

When I look back at Venice 2026, naturally I remember the spectacle. The boats. The architecture. The fashion. The red carpets. The extraordinary surroundings and that unmistakable sense that, for a few days, the eyes of the international film world are fixed on this remarkable Italian city.

But my experience with the Better World Fund added another dimension. It demonstrated that glamour and substance do not have to be opposites. Influence can entertain and still educate. Luxury can celebrate success and still recognise responsibility. A red carpet can lead somewhere more important than a photograph. And an evening of Champagne, beautiful clothes and extraordinary surroundings can still create conversations about equality, education, healthcare, the environment and humanity. Perhaps that is ultimately what stayed with me most.

I left the Procuratie Vecchie having enjoyed an exceptional Venetian evening, certainly — but also having met people, heard stories and encountered initiatives that made me think. And surely that is what the very best events should do.

They should leave you with more than memories. They should leave you with perspective.

For me, that was the real luxury of Venice.

— James W. Phillips Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Relentless Magazine

Discover the Better World Fund Venice 2026 programme