“I haven’t seen [the film], so I’m looking forward to it,” said Rihanna, clad in an Altuzarra skirt suit on Tuesday night in West Hollywood at the world premiere of “It’s Not Over,” a MAC AIDS Fund-sponsored documentary that explores the lives of three individuals affected by HIV-AIDS.
As the current face of MAC Cosmetics’ Viva Glam campaign, which donates all its lipstick and lip-gloss sales proceeds to the fight against the disease, the pop star has helped the MAC AIDS Fund raise more than $43 million of the $340 million accumulated since the founding of the fund in 1994. “You know where your money is going, and you get a product. You can’t lose,” she said.
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Partnering with Rihanna and director Andrew Jenks, who has spun together a journey to South Africa, India and the U.S., MAC hopes to get as many eyes as possible on the film, said the fund’s global executive director Nancy Mahon. “We decided to approach Andrew Jenks, who has such a great record on MTV, HBO and ESPN, to get the word out. His involvement was really key in the distribution.”
For Jenks, the goal has been to put faces to the epidemic and get people involved. “Once I started to look at the numbers and saw how things aren’t getting as good as they should be, I thought, maybe if you gave a personality to [the issue] — people that you watch, engage with, like and feel like you’re friends with — then maybe you’ll want to do something,” he said.
The audience who turned up to the screening included 2015 Viva Glam spokeswoman Miley Cyrus, who dodged reporters with her rumored new boyfriend Patrick Schwarzenegger in tow; electronic music artist Grimes; filmmaker Liz Goldwyn; MAC Cosmetics global brand president Karen Buglisi Weiler; UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibé, and MAC AIDS Fund chairman and Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. group president John Demsey. The film, available now in the U.S. on Netflix and Pivot, will be released globally on Netflix and via SnagFilms on Dec. 1, World AIDS Day.