Since 2002, Cinema for Peace 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.
[1] 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.
Cinema for Peace screenings, campaigns, advocacy events, and galas have been taking place for example at the Filmfestival in Cannes,[3] in Los Angeles on the occasions of the Golden Globes [4] and on Oscar weekend, in Uganda at the conference of the International Criminal Court,[5] and in Berlin, where Cinema for Peace annually highlights the most valuable films of the year at the Cinema for Peace Gala.
In 2014, Jaka Bizilj as the Founder of Cinema for Peace invited Pussy Riot to the Olympic Games in Sochi[7] and brought them to Hollywood[8] and to Washington[9] in order to promote global human rights responsibility and advocate a global Sanction List for human rights offenders.
Among the Cinema for Peace speakers have been: Buzz Aldrin, Antonio Banderas, Deepak Chopra, George Clooney, Catherine Deneuve, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bob Geldof,[10] Richard Gere, Dustin Hoffman,[11] Elton John, Nicole Kidman, Sir Christopher Lee, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Hilary Swank, Wim Wenders, Ban Ki-moon,[12] Luis Moreno-Ocampo and Fatou Bensouda as well as Mikhail Gorbachev.