2012 Campari Calendar

2012 Campari Calendar

The 2012 Campari Calendar, now in its 13th edition, has been unveiled in Milan, Italy.

Entitled It's the end of the world, baby!, this year's Campari Calendar takes its inspiration from the buzz around the prediction that, according to the ancient Mayan culture, the world as we know will end on 21st December 2012 and enter a transformative period. Campari's answer to this -gloomy' imaginary is to react, in an energetic and positive way, without compromises, in countertendency with the main stream. Therefore, with nothing but a blur of unknown possibilities, Campari takes a positive look at intriguing theories, and presents them visually in a series of powerful, awe inspiring photos starring Hollywood actress and supermodel, Milla Jovovich.

Set to take the audience on a stunning visual voyage, the calendar showcases Campari's latest female protagonist in vivid shots, as she enacts hypothetical scenes about the end of the world. With scenarios inspired from modern cinematography, mythological and biblical origins, the calendar explores remarkable events from dramatic Desertification and Hurricanes to Alien Invasion and Meteorite. Posing in magnificent couture, Jovovich successfully captivates viewers as she exudes a determined attitude, evoking power and control upon the unknown, and makes a toast to life with her co star, Campari.

Campari takes this opportunity to celebrate life creatively with optimism and energy, encouraging people the world over to join them in creating passionate, memorable moments to remember, by raising a glass together.

Milla Jovovich comments on her experience: 'As a model and an actress, this was an exciting new challenge for me, combining the skills to bring to life each of the hypothetical events in a theatrical, yet sophisticated way. What attracted me most to the project was the powerful inspiration behind it, as well as the positive approach of celebrating life with a special toast, with friends and family."

One of the most interesting protagonists in international photography, Dimitri Daniloff, shot the calendar for its 13th edition. A natural choice for shooting a truly mystical story, the Parisian born photographer perfectly captures each scenario, as he sought to shape each shot piece by piece on camera, converting them into reality. A complex and long process, the vibrant production was completed by special effects, adding the final touch to bring alive each hypothesis.

Daniloff talks about his involvement. 'I relish the opportunity to work with raw ideas like this, so when Campari briefed me on the inspiration, featuring a world of fantasy, it was the perfect project for me. I wanted to interpret each scenario in the most positive light, and I really seeked to recreate the events in a surreal and very choreographic way. The dresses, the styling and the set were a huge part of the real scenography, and other times it was just an elaborate hairstyle and accurate make up but, most importantly, it was Milla that was the star of the shoot, exuding ultimate glamour."

Milla Jovovich marks a return to female stars for the Campari Calendar, following last year's first male protagonist, Benicio Del Toro. She will now follow in the footsteps of some of the world's most stunning women who have adorned the pages of previous Campari Calendars, including Salma Hayek, Eva Mendes, and Jessica Alba.

Bob Kunze-Concewitz, CEO of Gruppo Campari, also comments: 'This year we've really pushed the creative boundaries as we've chosen to take a real imaginative look at the possibilities to come, in what is hyped as a transformative period. It is our mission as an aperitif to offer Campari lovers an intense, positive moment during this time, to celebrate whatever may happen and make a toast to life. With Milla's mysterious, intriguing style, she was a perfect choice as the interpreter of this concept. Additionally, there was no one better than Dimitri to bring to life the mystery and fantasy that inspire the images."

The Campari Calendar, of which only 9,999 copies are printed, will not go on sale but will be distributed to friends of Campari internationally.

For more information go to: www.campari.com

The Campari Calendar is one of the world's iconic artistic calendars. Distributed in international limited edition of only 9,999 copies it is a small, collectible luxury for the happy few that receive it, and is a tribute to the world class talent and photographers that make it come to life every year.

Campari is a contemporary classic. The recipe, which has remained unchanged, originated in Novara in 1860 and is the base for some of the most famous cocktails around the world. Campari is an alcoholic spirit obtained from the infusion of bitter herbs, aromatic plants and fruit in alcohol and water. With its distinct colour, aroma and flavour, Campari has always been a symbol of passion - passion that expresses itself in terms of seduction and sensuality. These are the values that have made the Campari brand famous throughout the world as an icon of Italian style and excellence.

Milla Jovovich has successfully established herself as a highly regarded, international model and actress. Jovovich has transitioned effortlessly to a full time actress, starring in over two dozen films. At the age of eleven, Jovovich was spotted by photographer Richard Avedon, who featured her in Revlon's 'Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements. Since then Milla has appeared in hundreds of magazines and on dozens of covers. In 1994, Milla released her critically acclaimed folk album, The Divine Comedy. Inspired by a love of 'elves and magic trees," Milla wrote the lyrics at 15 and recorded the album when she was just 16. She has just wrapped production on 'The Three Musketeers 3D" where she will portray 'Milady de Winter." She appears alongside an international cast that includes Christoph Waltz, Matthew Macfadyen, Mads Mikkelsen and Juno Temple. Summit Entertainment will release this film on October 14, 2011.

It's the End of the World Baby!
What is it about 2012?

2012 marks a special year because, according to many prophecies, we will see a global transformation leading to the end of the world as we currently know it. From the ancient Mayans to New Ageists, many people believe that on 21st December 2012 we will enter a transformative period, and what this will look like and mean is a source of global debate. Many believe that this change will be for the better and it is this positivity and thirst for life that Campari focuses on in the 2012 Calendar. Campari raises its cocktails in a toast to life regardless of all the hypotheses of the end of the world. Here are just a few examples of the many exciting, intriguing or, in some cases, insane ideas of what is predicted.

Mayan Calendar
The abrupt ending of the Mayan Long Count Calendar on December 21 2012 has been interpreted by some as a prophecy of the end of an age and maybe the world. The message the Mayans give concerns making a choice of how we enter the future ahead, so this could be a time of transition from one World Age into another.

Geomagnetic reversal
One idea tied to 2012 involves a geomagnetic reversal possibly triggered by a massive solar flare which would release energy equal to 100 billion atomic bombs. This belief is supposedly supported by observations that the Earth's magnetic field is weakening, which could precede a reversal of the north and south magnetic poles.

Planet X/Nibiru
Some proponents of doomsday in 2012 claim that a previously undiscovered planet called Planet X, or Nibiru, will collide with or pass by Earth in that year. This idea has appeared in various forms since 1995, and originally predicted the event in 2003, but this date was abandoned after it passed without incident. The idea originated from claims of channelling of alien beings and has been widely ridiculed.

Kali Yuga
In India, the guru Kalki Bhagavan promotes 2012 as a -deadline' for human enlightenment. Over 15 million people consider Bhagavan to be the incarnation of the god Vishnu and believe that 2012 marks the end of the Kali Yuga, or degenerate age.

Bugarach
The French village of Bugarach, began receiving visits from -esoteric'; mystic believers who concluded that the local mountain, Pic de Bugarach, is the ideal location to weather the transformative events of 2012. In 2011, the local mayor, Jean-Pierre Delord, began voicing fears to the international press that the small town would be overwhelmed by an influx of thousands of visitors in 2012, even suggesting he may call in the army.

The I Ching The I Ching, known as the Book of Changes, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts and has been used for more than 5000 years as an aid to making decisions and predicting the future. The McKenna brothers in their book -The Invisible Landscape' arrived from the I Ching 2012 end date by using ractals - a geometric pattern that is repeated at every scale and so cannot be represented by classical geometry.

Super-volcano
Some people are worried about the so-called super-caldera underneath Yellowstone Park in the United States and therefore believe that the end of the world will be the result of a super volcanic eruption, larger than any volcanic eruption in man's history. This eruption would happen when magma rises into the Earth's crust but is unable to break through. Such an event would, it is postulated, blast millions of tons of debris and poisonous gases into the atmosphere, and could either plunge the world into a so called nuclear winter triggering an ice age or, at worst, wipe out life in parts or all of the planet.