Biography
Monika Gomez Del Campo Bacardi, Lady of Bayfield Hall, known as Lady Monika Bacardi, is a multi-award-winning film producer, philanthropist, and art patron with an education in art, literature, and languages.
Italian by birth, she is also fluent in French, German, English, and Spanish, with film production and distribution companies based in Rome, Los Angeles, and Belgrade.
Married to Luis Adalberto Facundo Gomez Del Campo Bacardi, know as Lord Luis Bacardi – one of the owners of the renowned alcoholic beverage production and distribution company founded in 1862 and member of the company’s board of directors for over 40 years – and mother of Maria Luisa.
“I moved to Monaco at the age of twenty, Few years later, I met my husband Luis;
I was an independent woman, and he was an extremely intelligent, cultured, classy man with a great sense of humor. We got married , with a ceremony in Gibraltar and a lunch in Marbella. He dressed as a Mexican, and I as a Tyrolean, as a tribute to our family heritage. Our love was blessed with the birth of our beloved daughter, Maria Luisa. We always led a private life, focused on our family. Unfortunately, he left us prematurely a few years later.”
CAREER
Following her passion for creativity and artistic expression in all its forms, driven by her humanistic education and the love for art instilled by her family, Monika asserts herself as an entrepreneur, embodying the spirit of a Renaissance patron.
Having acquired the magazine “Photo” and the French license for “Playboy’” Monika entered also the world of cinema in 2013. Initially, she co-founded the distribution company Ambi Media Group, and later, as the co-founder of the international production company Iervolino and Lady Bacardi Entertainment (ILBE) and IE Studios by ILBE in Serbia.
“Cinema is art, indeed, it is a noble expression of art. I have always had a passion for cinema; even now, when I have a couple of free hours, I often go to watch a film. I was fascinated by the golden era of Italian cinema during the ‘Dolce Vita’. My intention, in my own way, was to try to breathe new life into that unforgettable, perhaps unrepeatable, period.”
As a film producer, she has worked on numerous films with A-List Hollywood actors and actresses.
Her experience and methods always bring a positive picture to her projects and guarantee international recognition and success.
In 2021 Monika Bacardi won the Award for the Best Producer of the Year at the Los Angeles – Italy Award 2021, hosted and organized by the Capri in the World Institute.
Thanks to her talent, in January 2022, ILBE entered the Euronext Growth Paris market, and Monika was included in Forbes Italy’s annual ranking of women distinguished for ingenuity, tenacity, and know-how. The producer is often a guest at major film festivals such as the Venice Film Festival and the Oscar ceremony in Los Angeles.
Monika Bacardi has consistently used cinema to spread her messages and values, advocating for the environment and gender equality.
An example is “Tell It Like a Woman,” a film released in 2021 and presented by ILBE, which tells diverse stories of courageous and determined women, involving internationally renowned directors and actresses such as Eva Longoria, Margherita Buy, Cara Delevingne, Jennifer Hudson, and Maria Sole Tognazzi.
She recently joined the Honorary Advisory Board of We Do It Together, a non-profit production company advocating for fair representation of women in cinema and media.
During the Taormina Film Festival 2022, Monika Bacardi was awarded the Taormina Excellence Award for the “Tell It Like a Woman” project.
Monika’s goal is to convey messages of hope, firmly believing that cinema can have a positive impact on society. ILBE aims to be an increasingly international platform for cinema focused on social issues, inclusion, and Made in Italy. ILBE has dedicated significant attention to the youth in recent years with animated short content series like “Puffins” or “Arctic Friends,” which have climbed the charts on Apple TV. “This type of content can convey positive messages to the new generations,” explains Monika Bacardi. Furthermore, they represent our ability to create and distribute content in an innovative way.”
PHILANTHROPY
In addition to expressing her commitment to social issues through her creative work, Monika is a contributor to several international charitable and humanitarian organizations, using her high profile and global network of contacts in the film, business, artistic and cultural communities to promote and raise funds for causes close to her heart.
“I’m involved in projects to support poor children in underdeveloped countries and, above all, to support their education. I’m also involved in the fight against cancer and degenerative diseases, and against climate change”.
Monika Bacardi has been a patron of the Centre Scientifique de Monaco for several years, joining its board of directors in 2021. The philanthropist has also joined the board of the Oceanographic Museum, to raise public awareness of the urgent need to protect the oceans, and is very active with Unicef and the Monegasque Red Cross.
Lady Monika Bacardi is a film producer, philanthropist, and art patron. Passionate about cinema as a force for social impact, she supports projects that promote inclusivity, culture, and creativity worldwide.
