The Cinema for Peace Foundation is a registered,

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

based in

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

. It supports film-based projects dealing with global humanitarian and environmental issues, and coordinates the

Cinema for Peace awards 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 a ...

History

Cinema for Peace Foundation was by founded

Jaka Bizilj Jaka Bizilj (born 8 December 1971) is a German writer, promoter and film producer. He is the founder and chairman of the Cinema for Peace Foundation. Early life and education Bizilj was born in Ljubljana, then part of Slovenia, Yugoslavia. He ...

in 2008. ''Film Against AIDS. '' In 2010, the Cinema for Peace Foundation organized a screening of the film, ''Themba - A Boy Called Hope'' for school children in

Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, introduced by the Nobel Peace Laureate

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop o ...

. The screenings of the film were later extended to nine further rural South African provinces to raise awareness about

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

prevention. In 2018, Cinema for Peace Foundation expanded its cinema-based humanitarian projects to include arranging medical treatment for

Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Feminism in Russia, Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in the fall of 2011 by the th ...

activist Pyotr Verzilof. On 22 August 2020, Cinema for Peace organized an emergency medical transport of Russian opposition candidate and anti-corruption activist

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (, ; 4 June 197616 February 2024) was a Russian Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia, opposition leader, anti-corruption in Russia, corruption activist and political prisoner. He founded the Anti-Corruption Found ...

to a Berlin hospital, after his suspected

poisoning Poisoning is the harmful effect which occurs when Toxicity, toxic substances are introduced into the body. The term "poisoning" is a derivative of poison, a term describing any chemical substance that may harm or kill a living organism upon ...

was recorded in a photograph and on video. Cinema for Peace Foundation's

was interviewed at the hospital as Navalny remained in a coma.

Cinema for Peace Foundation Awareness Programs

''Berlinger Petition.'' The Cinema for Peace Foundation initiated a petition to support filmmaker

Joe Berlinger Joseph Berlinger (born October 30, 1961) is an American documentary filmmaker and producer. Particularly focused on true crime documentaries, Berlinger's films and docu-series draw attention to social justice issues in the US and abroad in such ...

, winner of the International Green Film Award at Cinema for Peace 2010, in his defence against a lawsuit by the Chevron Oil Company. In 2010, a U.S. District Court ordered Berlinger to surrender 600 hours of outtakes from his documentary, ''Crude''. The film depicts a lawsuit by indigenous people against the Chevron Oil Company for environmental destruction allegedly caused by the company's activities in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. On appeal, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately limited the amount of footage that Berlinger was required to provide. ''Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani Awareness Campaign.''

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani (; born 1967) is an Iranian woman convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and adultery. She gained international notoriety for originally being sentenced to death by stoning for her crimes. Her sentence was commuted a ...

, an Iranian mother of two was convicted of adultery in 2006 and later sentenced to death by stoning. Her execution was postponed, though not commuted. In support of Ashtiani, the Cinema for Peace Foundation organized a press conference, attended by Ashtiani's lawyer and human rights campaigners on 18 August 2010, that included a screening of the film, The Stoning of Soraya M. directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh., winner of the Cinema for Peace Award for Justice 2010. The foundation later mailed DVD copies of '' The Stoning of Soraya M.'' to

United States Senators The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

, members of the

German Parliament The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the lower house of the German federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for ...

and authorities in the

Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, demanding the halt of execution by stoning and the immediate release of Ashtiani. ''Burma Petition.'' In February 2011, the Cinema for Peace Foundation organized a petition together with Burmese human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Myanmar), Ministe ...

to demand the release of the Burmese comedian

Zarganar Maung Thura "Zarganar" (also called Zaganar, ; also Zargana, ); born 27 January 1961) is a popular Burmese comedian, film actor, and director as well as a fierce critic and often political prisoner of the Burmese military government. Known fo ...

and the removal of a work ban imposed on actor U Kyaw Thu.

Cinema for Peace Foundation Special Initiatives

''Special Evening on Justice.'' Together with the Trust Fund for Victims and the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

, the Cinema for Peace Foundation organized a ''Special Evening on Justice'' on the eve of the Review Conference of the International Criminal Court Statute in

Kampala, Uganda Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala, Kawempe, Makindye, Nakawa, and Rubaga. Kampala's metropolitan area consi ...

. Ban Ki-moon recognized the Cinema for Peace Foundation in his remarks, "Let me applaud Cinema for Peace. Every time you and your friends from the creative community reach out to help people to learn about human rights and justice, you help the UN to keep the peace."' ''Nobel Peace Prize Screening.'' On

Human Rights Day Human Rights Day (HRD) is list of minor secular observances#December, celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December ...

, 10 December 2010, the Cinema for Peace Foundation,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, ''Movies that Matter'' and the ''Human Rights Film Network'' organized an internationally coordinated screening of ''Moving the Mountain'' in honor of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Liu Xiaobo Liu Xiaobo (; 28 December 1955 – 13 July 2017) was a Chinese literary criticism, literary critic, human rights activist, philosopher and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who called for political reforms and was involved in campaigns to end Ch ...

. The screenings were scheduled to take place on the day Xiaobo would have personally received his Nobel Peace Prize had he not been in prison in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The film was shown in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, the Nobel Peace Center in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, and the Human Rights Film Festivals in Vienna, Warsaw and Amman. ''Moving the Mountain'' is a 1994 documentary by

Michael Apted Michael David Apted (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was an English television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the ''Up (film series), Up'' documentary series from 1970 to 2019). He later di ...

that depicts the student-led democracy movement of 1989 in

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...

. ''Celebration of First Ever Logo for Human Rights'' The first eve
logo for human rights
was celebrated at an event in New York hosted by the Cinema for Peace Foundation on Friday 23 September 2011. The new design which brings to mind both a human hand and a bird in flight was created by Serbian designer Predrag Stakic. Stakic's logo is the winner of an online contest, and was chosen from more than 15,000 entries which were submitted by designers in 190 countries. Among the guests were Robert De Niro and the German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and various human rights defenders as the mother and the sister of Mohamed Bouazizi, whose self-immolation brought about the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...

. In a video message Aung San Suu Kyi said, "I look forward to a time when this logo will be seen all over the world ... I hope that little children and babies will see it and it will be a sign of happiness, peace and security to them." ''Justice Gala'' On the occasion of the 10th Session of the Assembly of the States Parties of the ICC, the inaugural Justice Gala took place on 12 December 2011 to recognize the growing global role of the ICC in the struggle for international justice and human rights. The Gala was held in New York by the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC and the Cinema for Peace Foundation. At the Gala event, Justitia Awards were given to Luis Moreno-Ocampo - the first Prosecutor of the ICC - Botswana’s President Ian Khama, Angelina Jolie, Benjamin Ferencz- a Chief Prosecutor of Nazi war crimes at Nuremberg - and other individuals and organizations who have played an important role in fulfilling the mission and goals of the International Criminal Court. ''The Prosecutor – In the Name of Justice'' On 15 June 2012 Cinema for Peace, with the Office of the Prosecutor, hosted a special justice evening in The Hague, to honor and farewell the first Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and welcome his successor Fatou Bensouda in her new role. During the evening the short film "S.O.S. – Siege on Syria" was premiered.

Funding

The Cinema for Peace Foundation is funded through private donations and from parts of the proceeds of the annual

Cinema for Peace The Cinema for Peace Foundation is a registered, non-profit organization based in Berlin, Germany. It supports film-based projects dealing with global humanitarian and environmental issues, and coordinates the Cinema for Peace awards. Histor ...

Gala and its related charity auction.Schedule of 2010 Donation Usage on Foundation website - http://www.cinemaforpeace-foundation.com/usage-of-donations/useofdonations/view The Cinema for Peace Foundation is politically, financially and morally completely independent.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.cinemaforpeace-foundation.org 2008 establishments in Germany Non-profit organisations based in Berlin Charities based in Germany Organizations established in 2008