Cinema for Peace

Cinema for Peace is a group based in the United States that aims to raise awareness for the social relevance of films, and to make active use of the influence of movies and documentaries on the perception and resolution of global social, political and humanitarian challenges. Since 2002, the group has been inviting film makers, humanitarian and human rights activists, and public figures to its annual awards ceremony in Berlin to honor a selection of cinematic works on humanitarian and environmental issues. The awards include: The Most Valuable Movie of the Year, The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year, The International Green Film Award, The Award for Justice, the International Human Rights Award and further Honorary Awards. The group also raises funds for the Cinema for Peace Foundation and other charities.

History

Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Jaka Bizilj launched the Cinema for Peace initiative with the annual gala as a platform for communicating humanitarian, political and social issues through the medium of film. Bob Geldof described the awards gala as "the Oscars with brains".[1] Since 2008, various projects initiated by the worldwide Cinema for Peace initiative are carried out by the charitable Cinema for Peace Foundation, based in Berlin, chaired unsalaried by Jaka Bizilj.

Activities

In addition to the annual Cinema for Peace Gala in Berlin the initiative also stages further special encounters in Europe, the USA and Africa, to draw media attention to current issues and major projects as well as to human rights defenders. On 18 May 2011 Cinema for Peace held its first dinner at the Cannes Film Festival to honour the humanitarian work of Sean Penn in Haiti. At this occasion, together with Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Uma Thurman, Jane Fonda and Faye Dunaway about 700,000 U.S. dollars were raised for his J/P Haitian Relief organization. Overall, as by mid-2011 the Cinema for Peace platform collected more than three million Euro for charitable purposes, as confirmed by external audit. All donation proceeds are published for transparency. The costs of all events are funded by sponsors. Iniator Jaka Bizilj and his production company Star Entertainment have been acting as largest sponsor in the period from 2002 to 2011.

Cinema for Peace distributed the Bosnian Oscar winning war satire No Man's Land (2001 film) by Danis Tanovic. In 2014, Jaka Bizilj as the Founder of Cinema for Peace invited Pussy Riot to the Olympic Games in Sochi [2] and introduced them to Hollywood [3] and to Washington [4] in order to promote global human rights responsibility and advocate a global Sanction List for human rights offenders.

Committee and supporters

Among the Cinema for Peace chairs, speakers and committee members have been, among many others, Buzz Aldrin, Antonio Banderas, Deepak Chopra, George Clooney, Catherine Deneuve, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bob Geldof, Richard Gere, Dustin Hoffman, Elton John, Nicole Kidman, Sir Christopher Lee, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Hilary Swank, Wim Wenders, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the Prosecutors of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno-Ocampo and Fatou Bensouda as well as Nobel Peace Award Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev.

Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries and partners of the Cinema for Peace activities include the Cinema for Peace Foundation, the United Nations agencies UNICEF and UNIFEM, Sean Penn's J/P Haitian Relief Organization, Richard Gere's "Healing the Divide" and the International Campaign for Tibet, which was initiated in a meeting with the Dalai Lama in 2004, "Schools for Africa" by UNICEF and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Leonardo DiCaprio Fund, the Elton John Aids Foundation, amfAR, the Gorbachev Foundation, Amnesty International, Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, Eastern Congo Initiative, and the Human Rights Film Network

Award history

The annual Cinema for Peace Awards seek to promote films, and social issues covered in films. The Awards include: The Most Valuable Film of the Year, The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year, The International Green Film Award, The Award for Justice, the International Human Rights Film Award (in cooperation with Amnesty International and the Human Rights Film Network, as well as various Honorary Awards.

The Most Valuable Film of the Year and the Most Valuable Documentary of the Year are judged by a committee of more than 100 filmmakers and humanitarians each year. The Honorary Award is awarded each year to a person for outstanding social and/or political or environmental achievements.

In 2007, Cinema for Peace launched together with Amnesty International the “International Human Rights Film Award” and in 2009, together with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, in The Hague, the “Cinema for Peace Award for Justice”. Cinema for Peace has awarded the "International Green Film Award" beginning in 2009, to honor members of the film community for an environmental movie or for outstanding achievements in raising awareness for green issues. The first Green Film Award Winner presented by Mikhail Gorbachev was Leonardo DiCaprio for his film The 11th Hour (film). In 2010, the ‘International Green Film Award’ was presented by Mikhail Gorbachev and Leonardo DiCaprio to Crude (2009 film) and director Joe Berlinger. The 2011 International Green Film Award was presented by Opel Project Earth to Jane's Journey, directed by Lorenz Knauer for his film exhibiting Jane Goodall's travels in her work to preserve endangered species around the world.

Cinema for Peace Honorary Awards

On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 2009, former President Mikhail Gorbachev received the Cinema for Peace Honorary Award for his central role in ending the Cold War and paving the way for a peaceful reunification process in Germany. At the Cinema for Peace Honorary Dinner at the China Club in Berlin, Bob Geldof, Plácido Domingo and Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German Foreign Minister during the reunification era, were the laudation speakers. The dinner was chaired among others by arts patrons Dieter Rosenkranz and Alexander Lebedev. Chairman and CEO of MTV Networks International Bill Roedy presented on this occasion the MTV Free Your Mind Award to President Gorbachev.

Two-time Academy Award winner Sean Penn was awarded the Cinema for Peace Honorary Award in 2011 for his humanitarian work in New Orleans and Haiti. In January 2010, he founded the J/P Haitian Relief Organization to aid victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

"In the Land of Blood and Honey", the directorial debut of Angelina Jolie, was honored with the "Honorary Award for Opposing War and Genocide" at the Cinema for Peace Berlin 2012. The film tells the story of the love between a Serbian man and a Muslim woman, who realize, upon the outbreak of the Bosnian war, they not only stand on opposing sides, but the man is now a soldier and the woman a prisoner of war. "In the Land of Blood and Honey" depicts the horrific violence of the civil war and makes a call for peace.

Charlize Theron received the Cinema for Peace Honorary Award 2013 for her commitment against the spread of HIV/AIDS among young South Africans. The South African actress and United Nations Messenger of Peace is the founder of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), which calls for medical education and battles against the spread of HIV.

Cinema for Peace Award for Opposing Anti-Semitism

Cinema for Peace Berlin 2013 highlighted artistic and social opposition to anti-Semitism in Germany and other counties. The Cinema for Peace Honorary Award for Opposing Anti-Semitism was presented to actress Veronica Ferres, Charlotte Knobloch and Marga Spiegel, who all have been working against anti-semitism and xenophobia for many years. The award was presented by German Rabbi Daniel Alter, who was the victim of an attack motivated by religious hatred on the streets of Berlin in 2012.

Award winners 2002–2015

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

References

  1. ↑ "BBC NEWS - Entertainment - Film awards aim for better world". News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Russia: Pussy Riot Releases Music Video Showing Cossack Beating - TIME.com". TIME.com. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Can Pussy Riot Conquer Hollywood?". LA Weekly. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ "The Experimental Witch (2009)". IMDb. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Experimental Witch Videos". Paulo Coelho's Blog. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "The Experimental Witch". Paulo Coelho's Blog. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Receiving the Cinema for Peace Award". YouTube. Retrieved 27 November 2014.

External links