Cinema For Peace - History As A Forum For Free Speech

History As A Forum For Free Speech

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". 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.

In 2003 Dustin Hoffman emphasized everyone’s moral responsibility and questioned the sense of going to war in Iraq. George Clooney honored the work of Cinema for Peace after receiving an award for the Most Valuable Movie of the Year for Good Night, and Good Luck in 2006: “I want to thank you for this award. It means a lot to me because last time I was there for Cinema for Peace a couple of years ago (just before the Iraq war), after walking in and coming home to the United States I was called a traitor to my own country (…) It made me a little angry and I wrote a film because of that – so you can honestly say that you were an active participant in us making this film.”

In his keynote speech in 2007, Richard Gere used the platform to remind the world not to forget about Tibet: “Any time China is dealt with, Tibet must be brought up… Every time you hear the word ´China´, think about Tibet. Think what you can do to help. It can be done.”

In his address in 2009, Mikhail Gorbachev reminded the world not to forget about the walls which still prevent the world of the urgently needed international and intercultural exchange and cooperation: "The Berlin Wall has gone into history. Sadly there are still many walls existing today: the wall of suspicion, of disbelief, the wall between the rich and the poor. People must be realistic and see these walls! If this faith, which made the Fall of the Wall possible, had not existed in 1989, the Wall would not have fallen (…) Therefore these walls must be shattered and especially the walls in the minds and hearts of people, which I consider most important."

At the Cinema for Peace Gala 2010, honorary chair Mikhail Gorbachev stated in announcing Crude the winner of the 2010 International Green Film Award: "I believe that cinema alone is capable of presenting the world with all its beauty but also with all of its dangers." And Leonardo DiCaprio added, "I wanted to give these people, these experts, these heros of mine that devoted their lives to these (environmental) issues a forum in which to speak that was not reduced to a ten second sound bite in the media. Giving them an opportunity to express what they learned in their entire lifetimes. And that is the importance of this event here tonight. He also called in his appeal for more environmental dedication: “Solving the environmental crisis is our turning point; it is our next Berlin wall.”

At the tenth Cinema for Peace Gala in February 2011 Sean Penn received the Cinema for Peace Honorary Award for his work with the J/P Haitian Relief Organization from German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. In his acceptance speech, Penn reflected on the current situation in Haiti and articulated the need to take responsibility for our actions. "I think we are the first generation that is going to survive long enough to be accountable for its actions and its lack of actions. And what we are primarily accountable for is the fairness, the equality that disallows poverty on the planet." Kahlid Nabawy, who played in the Cinema for Peace Award nominated film, Fair Game with Penn, received a standing ovation for his speech on the recent revolution in Egypt, pointing out that though many were injured and even killed, the revolution was peaceful overall.