Cinema for Peace Awards are prizes awarded by the Cinema for Peace Foundation, a Berlin-based initiative that claims to raise awareness for the social relevance of films. 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. The event occurs at the same time as (but not as part of) the Berlin International Film Festival.
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".
Activities Cinema for Peace as global initiative regularly acts in many countries. Cinema for Peace screenings, campaigns, advocacy events, and galas have been taking place for example at the Filmfestival in Cannes,Cinema for Peace Cannes 2015 - India's Daughter|Filmfestivals.com in Los Angeles on the occasions of the Golden Globes and on Oscar weekend, in Uganda at the conference of the International Criminal Court,Invitation - A Special Evening on Justice and in Berlin, where Cinema for Peace annually highlights the most valuable films of the year at the Cinema for Peace Gala.
The Cinema for Peace Foundation organizes various monthly screenings, mainly through partnering cinemas, such as the Schikaneder in Vienna
Cinema for Peace distributed the Bosnian Oscar-winning war satire No Man's Land by Danis Tanovic. In 2014, Jaka Bizilj as the Founder of Cinema for Peace invited Pussy Riot to the Olympic Games in Sochi and brought them to Hollywood and to Washington 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 speakers have been: Buzz Aldrin, Antonio Banderas, Deepak Chopra, George Clooney, Catherine Deneuve, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bob Geldof,"Deirdre Corley" Richard Gere, Dustin Hoffman,"Look to the Stars" Elton John, Nicole Kidman, Sir Christopher Lee, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Hilary Swank, Wim Wenders, Ban Ki-moon,"UN" Luis Moreno-Ocampo and Fatou Bensouda as well as Mikhail Gorbachev.
Awards Year Award Category Work Significant Person(s) Result 2004 Cinema for Peace Dove Most Valuable Film In My Country John Boorman 2005 Hotel Rwanda Terry George 2006 Good Night, and Good Luck George Clooney Most Valuable Work of a Director, Producer, or Screenwriter The Girl in the Café David Yates (Director), Richard Curtis (Writer) 2007 Most Valuable Film Flags of Our Fathers Clint Eastwood Letters from Iwo Jima Most Valuable Film Actor The Last King of Scotland Forest Whitaker Most Valuable Director Goodbye Bafana Bille August International Human Rights Film Award Coca: Die Taube von Tschetschenien Eric Bergkraut (Director) 2008 Cinema for Peace Dove Most Valuable Film Persepolis Marjane Satrapi (Director) and Vincent Paronnaud (Director) A Mighty Heart Michael Winterbottom (Director) In the Valley of Elah Paul Haggis (Director) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Julian Schnabel (Director) Juno Jason Reitman (Director) Charlie Wilson's War Mike Nichols (Director) Most Valuable Documentary Trouble - Teatime in Heiligendamm Ralf Schmerberg Sicko Michael Moore (Director), Mind Pirates Community Dafur Now Ted Braun (Director) Short Film The Spirit Joseph Fiennes (Director) Special The Experimental Witch Aaron J. March (Director), initiated by Paolo Coelho and created with the original work of 14 filmmakers from around the world. International Green Film Award Earth Alastair Fothergill (Director), Mark Linfield (Director) The Unforeseen Laura Dunn (Director) Arid Lands Grant Aaker (Director), Josh Wallaert (Director) International Human Rights Film Award Enemies of Happiness Eva Mulvad (Director) 2009 Cinema for Peace Dove Most Valuable Film Milk Gus Van Sant (Director) 8 Jane Campion (Director), Gael García Benal (Director), Jan Kounen (Director) Australia Baz Luhrmann (Director) A Woman in Berlin Max Färberböck (Director) Blind Loves Juraj Lehotsky (Director) Changeling Clint Eastwood (Director) Che: Part One Steven Soderbergh (Director) The Baader Meinhof Complex Uli Edel (Director) Doubt John Patrick Shanley (Director) Frost/Nixon Ron Howard (Director) Hunger Steve McQueen (Director) The Caiman Nanni Moretti (Director) Machan Uberto Pasolini (Director) Most Valuable Documentary Das Herz von Jenin Leon Geller Bigger, Stronger, Faster* Chris Bell (Director) Kalinovski Square Yury Khashchavatski (Director) Kassim the Dream Kief Davidson (Director) Leaving Fear Behind Dhondup Wangchen (Director) Shooting Robert King Richard Parry (Director) Tough Being Loved by Jerks Daniel Leconte (Director) Justice Pray the Devil Back to Hell Gini Reticker For a Moment, Freedom Arash T. Riahi (Director) Gomorrah Matteo Garrone (Director) Johnny Mad Dog Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (Director) Katyń Andrzej Wajda (Director) Lemon Tree Eran Riklis (Director) Milk Gus Van Sant (Director) Special Valkyrie Bryan Singer (Director) International Green Film Award Blue Gold: World Water Wars Sam Bozzo (Director) Fields of Fuel Joshua Tickell (Director) Flow: For Love of Water Irena Salina (Director), Dan Berger (Director) International Human Rights Film Award Enemies of Happiness Eva Mulvad 2010 Cinema for Peace Dove Most Valuable Film The White Ribbon Michael Haneke (Director) Avatar James Cameron (Director) District 9 Neill Blomkamp (Director) Entre nos Gloria La Morte (Director), Paola Mendoza (Director] Five Minutes of Heaven Oliver Hirschbiegel (Director) The Ghost Writer Roman Polanski (Director) Invictus Clint Eastwood (Director) The Messenger Oren Moverman (Director) Triage Danis Tanovic (Director) Up in the Air Jason Reitman (Director) Most Valuable Documentary Das Mädchen und das Foto Marc Wiese Kimjongilia NC Heikin (Director) Murder File: Hrant Dink Osman Okkan (Director), Simone Sitte (Director) Reporter Eric Daniel Metzgar (Director) Sergio Greg Barker (Director) Tibet in Song Ngawang Choephel (Director) Toumast Dominique Margot (Director) Justice Children of War Bryan Single The Stoning of Soraya M. Cyrus Nowrasteh (Director) Women in Shroud Farid Haerinejad (Director), Mohammad Reza Kazemi (Director) As We Forgive Laura Waters Hinson (Director) Capitalism: A Love Story Michael Moore (Director) The Most Dangerous Man in America Rich Goldsmith (Director), Judith Ehrlich (Director) The Time That Remains Elia Suleiman (Director) Reconciliation Five Minutes of Heaven Oliver Hirschbiegel (Director) Special Triage Danis Tanovic (Director) International Green Film Award Crude Joe Berlinger (Director) Bananas!* Fredrik Gertten (Director) Home Yan Arthus-Bertrand (Director) Into Eternity (film) Michael Madsen (Director) International Justice and Human Rights Film Award Children of War Bryan Single
2011
The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year: Of Gods and Men by Xavier Beauvois The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: Skateistan: Four Wheels and a Board in Kabul by Kai Sehr The Cinema for Peace Dove for Justice: Blood in the Mobile by Frank Piasecki Poulsen The International Green Film Award: Message from Pandora by James Cameron, Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World by Julie Bergman, Sender Stuart Sender; Jane's Journey by Lorenz Knauer
2012
The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year: In the Land of Blood and Honey by Angelina Jolie The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory by Joe Berlinger The Cinema for Peace Dove for Justice: Granito by Pamela Yates; Justice for Sergei by Hans Hermans and Martin Maat The International Green Film Award: Burning in the Sun by Cambria Matlow and Morgan Robinson
2013
The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year: Lincoln by Steven Spielberg The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: Searching for Sugar Man by Malik Bendjelloul; The Gatekeepers by Dror Moreh The Cinema for Peace Dove for Justice: No by Pablo Larraín The International Green Film Award: Bitter Seeds by Micha X. Peled
2014
The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year: 12 Years a Slave by Steve McQueen The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: Syria: Children on the Frontline by Marcel Mettelsiefen The Cinema for Peace Dove for Justice: #chicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes on a Dictator by Joe Piscatella The International Green Film Award: Big Men by Rachel Boynton
2015
The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year: Selma by Ava DuVernay; Timbuktu by Abderrahmane Sissako The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: Drone by Tonje Hessen Schei; E-Team by Katy Chevigny and Ross Kauffman The Cinema for Peace Dove for Justice: Three Windows and a Hanging by Isa Qosja; Miners Shot Down by Rehad Desai The International Green Film Award: Virunga by Orlando von Einsiedel
2016
The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year: Beasts of No Nation by Cary Joji Fukunaga; A Tale of Love and Darkness by Natalie Portman The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: Cartel Land by Matthew Heineman The Cinema for Peace Dove for Justice: Watchers of the Sky by Edet Belzberg The International Green Film Award: Racing Extinction by Louie Psihoyos
2017
The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year: Hacksaw Ridge by Mel Gibson The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: Keep Quiet by Sam Blair and Joe Martin The Cinema for Peace Dove for Justice: Snowden by Oliver Stone The International Green Film Award: The Ivory Game by Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson
2018
The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year: The Post by Steven Spielberg The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: Cries from Syria by Evgeny Afineevsky The Cinema for Peace Dove for Justice: The Breadwinner by Nora Twomey The International Green Film Award: Jane by Brett Morgen
2019
The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year: Capernaum by Nadine Labaki The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: The Heart of Nuba by Kenneth A. Carlson The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Political Film of the Year: Watergate by Charles Ferguson The Cinema for Peace Dove for Justice: Two Catalonias by Álvaro Longoria and Gerardo Olivares The Cinema for Peace Dove for Women’s Empowerment: RBG by Julie Cohen and Betsy West The International Green Film Award: The Elephant Queen by Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone
2020
The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year: 1917 by Sam Mendes The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: The Cave by Feras Fayyad The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Political Film of the Year: Official Secrets by Gavin Hood The Cinema for Peace Dove for Justice: The Collini Case by Marco Kreuzpaintner; A Regular Women by Sherry Hormann The Cinema for Peace Dove for Women’s Empowerment: A Girl from Mogadishu by Mary McGuckian; Maiden by Alex Holmes The International Green Film Award: Santuario by Álvaro Longoria; Sea of Shadows by Richard Ladkani, Sean Bogle and Matthew Podolsky
2021
The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year: Quo Vadis, Aida? by Jasmila Žbanić The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year: The Mole: Undercover In North Korea by Mads Brugger; Welcome to Chechnya by David France The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Political Film of the Year: Mayor by David Osit