Aguilera, Hanks, De Niro and more light up Cannes amfAR gala

By LOUISE DIXON
Associated Press

ANTIBES, France (AP) — Robert De Niro was the honored guest at the 28th annual amfAR Gala Cannes, where one lucky guest won an auction to have lunch with the actor and a piece of his family history. One of the most anticipated events of the Cannes Film Festival, over 800 guests attended Thursday’s exclusive dinner, auction and after party in Antibes where guests were entertained with performances from Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin and Charli XCX. De Niro kicked off the bidding on the lunch with him and by the time it was over, 500,000 euros ($537,025) had been raised to support amfAR’s AIDS research efforts. The lot also includes a painting by De Niro’s father.