non-violence in film; a message which the artist herself strongly believes in. Victoria, also author of Saharawi – The Sahara’s Abandoned People and co-producer of A Passion for Giving, a documentary on charity and philanthropy, is someone with a genuine interest in humanitarian causes. Highlights of the film festival for her include My Angel, winning the trophy for best feature film and Kono Kishi no Koto, a Japanese film which also swept the awards. Victoria has received much media attention in the past but not just for her musical endeavours. Both her father’s jail sentence and the discovery that her friend Petrina Khashoggi, daughter of Adnan Khashoggi, (the richest man in the world during the 1980s) was in fact her half-sister, caused much scandal.
“I remember meeting Adnan at a party in the south of France and, confused about the number of children he had, he said “these are my daughters”, she explains in good humour. What is most striking about Victoria is her down-to- earth and open manner. Clearly having moved on from the controversies surrounding her father,Victoria is now devoted to songwriting. She sees her father’s history as a “blessing in disguise”, forcing her to work even harder to prove herself and gain credibility. Victoria is due to release two new singles, ‘Weekend Lover’ and ‘Fashion Boy,’ later this year. “Who knows,” she says jokingly, as she leaves to take the plane to Abu-Dabi, “perhaps ROHMIR will be playing my single ‘Fashion Boy’ at her next fashion show”.
Christmas Ball The Christmas Ball opened the Monte-Carlo winter season with the theme of Monte-Carlo – St. Moritz, and raised more than €35,000 for Monaco’s own hands-on charity, Mission Enfance, thanks to raffles and an auction by Sotheby’s. T he magnificent Salle Empire ballroom of the Hotel de Paris was the venue and sponsors were the jeweller Sabbadini, Sarasin Bank, Europe Auto with the Nissan GTR, Green GT and M&A Autosport.
Below left: Pierandrea and Samantha Sabbadini (jeweller Sabbadini), Sandrine Garbagnati Knoell (Organiser/ Five Stars Events), Lisa Shell and Joe Straehle (Sarasin), Father Christmas, Domitille Lagargue and Anne-Marie Fissore (Mission Enfance).
PAGE 15 LIFE – DECEMBER 2011 JANUARY 2012 MONACO
Below: The Committee: Elizabeth Wessel, Valentina Marzocco, Julia Mikheeva Angelini, Elisa Giusti, Lady Monika Bacardi, Marquise Gilardi, Adriana Volpe, S.A.R Camilla de Bourbon des Deux Siciles, Sandrine Garbagnati Knoell (Organiser/ Five Stars Events), Inna Maier.
PAGE 15