Campari Painted Cannes Red With a Glamorous Fête

Milanese aperitivo experts Campari celebrated the Cannes Film Festival by hosting a fabulous fête on May 20 at the Hôtel Martinez in the heart of the Croisette that drew the likes of actors Charles Melton and Luke Evans and model Alessandra Ambrosio.

Titled Discover Red—a nod to Campari’s iconic hue—the night kicked off with an immersive four-course pairing of innovative cocktails and bites inspired by the French Riviera and the Cannes Film Festival’s legendary red carpet mere blocks away. About 100 guests sat in near darkness at a table that was essentially a 100-foot-long video monitor, used to dramatic effect to spotlight creative Campari cocktails curated by Tommaso Cecca, head mixologist at Milan’s century-old aperitivo hub in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II Camparino in Galleria. The beverages were paired with whimsical bites by Cannes native Christian Sinicropi, executive chef at the city’s only two-Michelin-starred restaurant, La Palme d’Or.

At the meal’s conclusion, a floor-to-ceiling curtain flanking the table dropped to reveal a DJ in a large LED-festooned cube surrounded by a vast, thumping, red-lit dance floor. A selection of iconic Campari cocktails—including the classic Negroni (the number one best-selling cocktail worldwide), the Campari Spritz, and the recently viral Negroni Sbagliato—were meticulously crafted by no less than white-jacketed bartenders direct from Camparino in Galleria. Red-carpet regular Cole Walliser delighted guests, including Ambrosio, by capturing them in glamorous slow motion with his signature whirling video camera rig.

Julka Villa, Campari Group’s head of global marketing, underscored the brand’s deep connection to cinema: The company has collaborated with film auteurs like Federico Fellini (who made his first commercial in 1984 for Campari) and Paolo Sorrentino on its Red Diaries short-film series, which in recent years has starred actors like Ana de Armas and Zoe Saldana. “The aim of Discover Red was to curate a night that brought together Campari and cinema, each of which inspires the unforgettable,” Villa said, adding that this marked the second time Campari has been an official partner of the Festival de Cannes. “As one of the most celebrated film festivals, our event took inspiration from the aspirational allure of Festival de Cannes, and we immersed our guests in this world through all senses.”