:: Spotlight :: 10 years of Cinema for Peace

By: Carmine Pascuzzi

Ten years of Cinema for Peace will be the theme of the Cinema for Peace Gala to be held on February 13, 2012. The grand event will take place in Berlin’s famous Gendarmenmarkt Concert Hall. This year’s gala in particular, will welcome many international celebrities and winners. For the last ten years, Cinema for Peace has been supporting the fight for human rights, social justice, humanitarian missions, and environmental protection through captivating social film expression. Recognised as one of the world’s most important film events, the Cinema for Peace gala now has partner events in both New York City and Los Angeles, with many projects funded by generous sponsors and private donations. As last year’s “Cinema for Peace” in Cannes, saw incredible dedication from the likes of Leonardo Di Caprio and Robert De Niro, this year’s first “Cinema for Peace”, took place on January 14, 2012 in Los Angeles receiving equal support from stars like Sean Penn and Julia Roberts.

With around 600 guests, the Cinema for Peace award gala in Berlin will be an event to behold. As a result of the past ten years, more than three million Euros have been donated to charitable cause. In 2011, award recipients included actor and activist Sean Penn, who was honoured for his engagement in Haiti; the year prior Leonardo DiCaprio and Mr. President Mikhail Gorbachev handed over the “Green Oscar”. This year’s Cinema for Peace gala will place focus on Bosnia and Burma through Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut “In the Land of Blood and Honey” (2011). In particular, this cinematic piece will be awarded for its depiction of these war torn states and its stand against war and genocide.

As Bosnia has been a main priority of the Cinema for Peace Foundation, which in November 2011 opened an office in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Cinema for Peace Foundation is dealing with the investigation of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica. Their ultimate goal is to conduct of over 10,000 interviews with witnesses and survivors depicting the massacre as true to life as possible. The research will be made available in an online library, and eventually be formatted into a documentary. Students, scientists and non-government organizations will give detailed insight and background about the events in Srebrenica during the war in former Yugoslavia.

The “Cinema for Peace Award for the Most Valuable Movie of the Year”, under the chairmanship of former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Nobel Peace Prize Winner (2005) Mohammed el-Baradei, is presented by Sir Bob Geldof. This year the “International Human Rights Film Award” will be awarded to both human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and to the movie “The Lady” by Luc Besson, starring Michelle Yeoh. The prize is awarded by Amnesty International, Cinema for Peace, and Human Rights Film Network.

Other awards include the “Cinema for Peace Award for Justice” to be presented by Federal Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and Luis Moreno-Ocampo, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Subsequently, the “International Green Film Award”, originally introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev, and Leonardo DiCaprio, will be presented by Opel and brand ambassador Katie Melua. Opel is sponsor of this award and will be represented by board member Alain Visser. In addition to Opel, many esteemed sponsors show their support for the Cinema for Peace Gala 2012 such as: United Internet Media, represented by board member Matthias Ehrlich, Solarhybrid AG, represented by Tom Schröder, Salus Alpha, represented by Oliver Prock, Tiroler Nussöl, and hotels, The Regent and Amano.

Along with guest of honour Angelina Jolie, Cinema for Peace 2012 welcomes Madame Catherine Deneuve, as she was the first to host the Cinema for Peace gala ten years prior. In addition, the event will also welcome many other international celebrities such as Sir Bob Geldof, Sir Christopher Lee, Luis Moreno Ocampo, Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador Bianca Jagger, along side such German actors/actresses Katja Riemann, Jan Josef Liefers, and Anna Loos.