Venice in September is unlike anywhere else in the world.
As the international film community descends on the city, Venice becomes a meeting point for cinema, art, luxury, business, philanthropy and some of the world’s most influential personalities.
On 8 September 2026, that extraordinary backdrop will provide the setting for another important international gathering as the Better World Fund returns to Venice during the International Venice Film Festival.
Among those attending will be James W. Phillips, Editor-in-Chief of Relentless Magazine and CEO of JWP Media Group, alongside internationally recognised and award-winning Canadian fine artist Carina Francioso.
Bringing together two very different creative worlds — international publishing and fine art — their presence reflects the wider philosophy of an event built around the belief that creativity and influence can become powerful forces for positive change.
More importantly, this isn’t simply an event you have to read about afterwards.
You can join us in Venice.
James W. Phillips has built JWP Media Group around publishing, communications, creativity and the ability to tell compelling stories across international markets.
The group specialises in publishing and design for the luxury industries, working across both digital and print to help businesses tell their stories and elevate their brands.
Its activities now extend far beyond traditional publishing, encompassing public relations, Marketing Compliance, Fractional Advisory, an educational institute in the USA, Relentless Magazine Sports Awards, social media and digital campaigns, SEO, Google advertising, website development, copywriting, interviews, and international distribution.
Its publishing operation takes magazines and books from initial concept and creative direction through design, print, marketing and international distribution, with JWP Media Group working across the UK, Europe, USA and beyond.
At the heart of that expanding media portfolio sits Relentless Magazine, with Phillips serving as its Editor-in-Chief.
Relentless has developed its identity around people with stories worth telling — entrepreneurs, athletes, creatives, business leaders and personalities who demonstrate the drive and determination behind genuine achievement.
That same philosophy has seen the wider JWP Media Group continue to expand into new areas of media, PR, events and international collaborations.
For Phillips, attending the Better World Fund is therefore about considerably more than appearing at another high-profile event.
It is about connections.
It is about discovering new stories.
And it is about bringing together people from completely different worlds who might otherwise never meet.
“The most exciting opportunities often begin with a conversation,” says Phillips.
“That is one of the reasons events such as the Better World Fund are so important. You are bringing together extraordinary people from art, cinema, philanthropy, business and media in one place.
“For me, that is exactly what Relentless Magazine and JWP Media Group are about — meeting people, understanding their stories, creating relationships and discovering where those relationships might lead.”
“I’m particularly delighted to be attending this year’s event in Venice. The occasion brings together art, media and philanthropy in a truly special way. Internationally recognised Canadian-Italian fine artist Carina Francioso, whose work I have admired for some time, will also be among those attending.”
Also attending the event in Venice will be internationally recognised, award-winning Canadian-Italian fine artist Carina Francioso.
Francioso has established an international reputation through her meticulously detailed contemporary realist oil paintings, with her works held in private and corporate collections around the world.
At the heart of much of her work is water.
Sometimes calm, sometimes powerful and tumultuous, the constantly changing waters of the world have provided Francioso with an extraordinary source of artistic inspiration.
It is a relationship rooted deeply in her own life. Her adolescent years were spent boating with her family on Georgian Bay in Canada, while from the age of 16 she has spent summers living beside the sea in Salento, Italy. Those experiences would become an important influence upon her artistic identity.
Through her paintings, Francioso explores the beauty, fragility and immense power of water, while her introduction of female figures and self-portraits into the water has allowed her to explore another fascinating connection: the parallels between water and woman.
Strength and fragility.
Power and healing.
Beauty and life.
Her appreciation for the Old Masters and Renaissance realism can also be seen in the remarkable technical execution of her paintings.
That talent has earned international recognition.
Francioso has been invited on several occasions to serve as a juror for the Boynes Emerging Artist Award Panel and is the recipient of awards including the 2019 Arcadia Contemporary Gallery Award and the Bernice Adams Memorial Visual Arts Award and Bursary.
Her work has been broadcast internationally on RAI Television and featured in publications including American Art Collector, GRAND Magazine, the Art Renewal Center’s International Realism Salon Catalog, Hyperrealism Magazine and Panoram Italia.
Her work has also attracted an international circle of collectors, including prominent figures, celebrities and members of royalty, among them the Princess of Dubai.
It makes Venice — a city intrinsically connected with both water and art — an especially appropriate destination.
Discover Carina Francioso:
carinafrancioso.com
Behind the glamour of the occasion lies a much bigger purpose.
The philosophy of the Better World Fund is captured in its own powerful statement:
“Cinema & Art at the Service of Humanity.”
Founded in 2016 by Manuel Collas de La Roche, the Better World Fund has spent a decade bringing together celebrities, artists, international leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers through prestigious international events and cultural programmes.
Its mission is focused particularly upon women’s rights, gender equality and education, using the reach of cinema and art to raise awareness and encourage tangible action.
The concept is distinctive.
The Better World Fund combines prestigious gala dinners with conferences and masterclasses, networking events, charity auctions and awards recognising leaders, entrepreneurs and artists who have created positive impact.
Rather than separating glamour and philanthropy, it deliberately brings the two together.
Major cultural occasions attract extraordinary concentrations of international influence. The Better World Fund seeks to harness that influence and direct some of the attention towards humanitarian causes, organisations and individuals making a genuine difference.
Its international programmes have taken place around major cultural occasions including the Cannes and Venice film festivals, creating an environment in which cinema, art, business and humanitarian action meet.
Over the years, the Better World Awards have recognised or included an extraordinary collection of international figures.
Names listed amongst previous beneficiaries of its awards include Prince Albert II of Monaco, Kevin Costner, Catherine Deneuve, David Lynch, Susan Sarandon, Isabelle Huppert, Sharon Stone and Lang Lang, alongside humanitarian leaders, politicians, entrepreneurs, artists and campaigners.
The organisation says its programmes have illuminated important causes on the international stage, including at Cannes and Venice, where some of cinema’s most recognisable figures have lent their presence and support.
It is this combination of international profile and humanitarian purpose that has allowed the Better World Fund to create an identity quite different from a conventional awards ceremony or gala.
The Better World Fund’s next Venice edition takes place on:
8 September 2026 during the International Venice Film Festival.
The official venue is the magnificent Procuratie Vecchie in Saint Mark’s Square, Venice, home of The Human Safety Net.
The programme begins during the morning with a forum running from 10am until 1pm.
Under the title:
Stories, Scripts, Screens: Can We Sculpt a Better World through Cinema?
The masterclass will explore the ability of cinema and storytelling to influence society and contribute towards a better future.
An exclusive lunch follows at 1.30pm for Golden Badge holders.
Then, as evening falls over Venice, attention turns to the Gala for Humanity.
Beginning at 7.30pm and continuing until midnight, the evening will feature a red carpet arrival and cocktails, followed by a gala dinner at 8.30pm.
A charity auction and the prestigious Better World Awards will form part of the evening.
Throughout the day, the Procuratie Vecchie will also host the creation of a Tibetan Sand Mandala — a sacred geometric artwork made from millions of grains of coloured sand, symbolising compassion, peace, wisdom, interconnectedness and the impermanence of life.
The 2026 Venice programme also has a significant humanitarian focus.
The Better World Fund will honour the Amazônia Fund Alliance Program, an international alliance launched during the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 and dedicated to protecting the Brazilian Amazon and supporting Indigenous communities.
The Venice programme is also supporting the Akbaraly Foundation, which works to improve access to healthcare and education, particularly for women and children.
According to information published by the Better World Fund, the Foundation has delivered more than 300,000 healthcare services, including tens of thousands of breast and cervical cancer screenings and paediatric consultations, while its awareness and screening campaigns have reached more than one million people.
Behind the red carpet, therefore, is a serious message.
Influence has value.
But what matters is how that influence is used.
For followers of Relentless Magazine, clients and partners of JWP Media Group, collectors and followers of Carina Francioso — and anyone who believes in the potential created when ambitious people come together — Venice represents an opportunity to do something rather special.
Come and meet us.
Phillips and Francioso will be joining the international community gathering around the Better World Fund, and readers have the opportunity to attend too.
“One of the things I particularly want to emphasise is that you don’t simply have to follow what we’re doing through Relentless Magazine or social media,” says Phillips.
“You can actually join us.
“Come to Venice. Experience the Better World Fund. Meet Carina and me, introduce yourself and become part of the conversation.
“Whether you’re an entrepreneur, artist, potential client, brand owner, philanthropist or simply somebody who believes in what the Better World Fund is trying to achieve, come and say hello. You never know where one introduction might lead.”
For businesses, it is also an opportunity to think bigger.
The Better World Fund offers a range of sponsorship opportunities for organisations looking to position themselves alongside its international programme.
For brands, sponsorship provides more than access to an event.
It creates the opportunity to associate a company with a public-interest cause while gaining visibility within an international environment spanning cinema, art, philanthropy, business and luxury.
The Better World Fund describes participation as an opportunity for organisations to demonstrate their commitment to causes that matter, express themselves internationally and benefit from the reach of its international media plan.
That creates a natural synergy with the work of JWP Media Group.
Through publishing, PR, brand storytelling, digital campaigns, international distribution and event-based exposure, JWP Media Group works with businesses seeking precisely that type of elevated international positioning.
For the right brand, Venice therefore becomes much more than a destination.
It becomes a platform.
There will undoubtedly be glamour.
There will be photographers, international guests, extraordinary surroundings and the unmistakable atmosphere that descends upon Venice during its famous film festival.
But the significance of the Better World Fund lies beyond the red carpet.
It lies in using cinema and art to create conversations.
It lies in connecting people.
It lies in recognising those creating positive change.
And it lies in asking what can happen when people with influence, creativity, resources and ideas find themselves together in the same room.
For James W. Phillips and Carina Francioso, those themes feel particularly appropriate.
One tells stories through international media.
The other tells them through paint.
On 8 September, those two worlds will meet in Venice.
And this is your invitation to join them.
Better World Fund – Venice 2026
8 September 2026
During the International Venice Film Festival
Procuratie Vecchie, Saint Mark’s Square, Venice
BUY TICKETS / BOOK YOUR SEATS
Visit the official Better World Fund website:
https://www.betterworld.fund/
BECOME A SPONSOR
Explore the official Venice 2026 sponsorship opportunities:
https://www.betterworld.fund/events/sponsorship/venice-film-festival-2026-sponsorship
VENICE 2026 EVENT INFORMATION
https://www.betterworld.fund/events/venice-film-festival-2026
CARINA FRANCIOSO — INTERNATIONAL FINE ARTIST
https://carinafrancioso.com/
JWP MEDIA GROUP
Publishing • PR • Marketing • Design • International Distribution
https://jwpmediagroup.com/
This September, don’t just follow Venice from afar. Join us there.
The factual background above now comes directly from Carina Francioso’s official website, JWP Media Group and the Better World Fund. In particular, I’ve used Carina’s official biography for her awards, collectors and artistic background, and the Better World Fund’s current Venice page for the 8 September 2026 programme, venue and humanitarian focus. (Carina Francioso)
Hero image photography by Sebastian Felix.
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