Press Release: Cinema for Peace Gala 2024

 
 
 

Honoring Pope Francis, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton,

UN SG Ban Ki-moon
with

 Sharon Stone, Sir Bob Geldof, Pussy Riot,
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oleksanda Matviichuk 

& Inaugurating 

 
 
 
 

BERLIN — Democracy and Freedom are at stake. On February 18&19 2024, Cinema for Peace will honor filmmakers and personalities who make a difference and inaugurate THE FIRST WORLD FORUM ON THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY, TECH, AND HUMANKIND at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in order to promote a renewal of democracy and support freedom.

The Cinema for Peace Gala
At the Cinema for Peace Gala 2024, Sharon Stone, Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk, and Sir Bob Geldof will honor His Holiness Pope Francis (video), Madam Secretary Hillary Clinton, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and filmmakers from all over the world with the Cinema for Peace Awards, and highlight films that tackle the perception and resolution of global social, political, and humanitarian challenges of our time.

There will be a special award for filmmakers whose work supports the protection of Jewish life, reminding of the Holocaust and the events on October 7 all over the world.

The guest invitation list includes personalities such as Oscar honoree Helen Mirren, the first female Foreign Minister of Germany Annalena Baerbock, the Minister of Finance Christian Lindner, Omar Sy, Mario Adorf, Veronica Ferres, Thomas Kretschmann, Nastassja Kinski, Marina Ovsyannikova, Didi Hallervorden, Ben Becker, Jan Josef Liefers, The BossHoss among many others. An auction will be led by the chairwoman of Christie’s Christiane Gräfin zu Rantzau. One of the top items will be an artwork by Sharon Stone, who will have her first European Exhibition in Berlin.

His Holiness Pope Francis will be honoured together with the film “Freedom on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom” by Evgeny Afineevsky, for his contributions to the freedom of Ukraine and humanitarian efforts to protect civilians and children. Hillary Clinton will be honoured for her work defending peace and democracy across the globe, firstly as a politician with decades of dedicated work, and now through her film production company “Hidden Light”, founded together with her daughter Chelsea Clinton. In 2023 Cinema for Peace honoured “Hidden Light”’s Afghan documentary “In Her Hands”. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be honoured together with the film “The Quiet Diplomat: Ban Ki-moon and the Future of the United Nations” for his peacekeeping initiatives, diplomatic efforts in resolving conflicts from Darfur to Syria, and in championing the Sustainable Development Goals.

The film nominees for this year’s Cinema for Peace Awards include the Auschwitz film The Zone of Interest; One Life by James Hawes, the story of Nicholas Winton portrayed by Anthony Hopkins, who saved hundreds of children from the Nazis; Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan, on the legacy of Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb; Barbie by Greta Gerwig, exploring gender norms, body image, and influence of pop culture; Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese about Mollie Burkhart of the Osage Nation trying to save her community from murders fueled by oil and greed; Dumb Money by Craig Gillespie, a semi-historical partial biopic of the man who took Gamestop stock to the moon, and its impact on the financial world; and January 6th by Jules Naudet and Gedeon Naudet, replaying the events of the attack on US Capitol.

Here are all the nominees of the Cinema for Peace Awards this year: 

Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Film of the Year 2024 

  • American Fiction by Cord Jefferson 

  • Barbie by Greta Gerwig 

  • Dumb Money by Craig Gillespie

  • El Conde by Pablo Larrain 

  • Golda by Guy Nattiv

  • Killers of The Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese

  • One Life by James Hawkes

  • Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan

  • Past Lives by Celine Song

  • The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer 

Cinema for Peace Dove for The Most Valuable Documentary of the Year 2024

  • American Symphony by Matthew Heineman 

  • Hong Kong Mixtape by San San F. Young

  • In the Shadow of Beirut by Garry Keane and Stephen Gerard Kelly 

  • JFK: One Day in America by Ella Wright 

  • Kiss the Future by Nenad Čičin-Šain

  • Motherland by Hanna Badziaka and Alexander Mihalkovich

The Cinema for Peace Dove for Women’s Empowerment 2024

  • The Disappearance of Shere Hite by Nicole Newnham

  • Four Daughters by Kaouther Ben Hania 

  • Frida by Carla Gutierrez

  • Invisible Beauty by Bethann Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng

  • Nyad by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin

  • Smoke Sauna Sisterhood by Anna Hints

The Cinema for Peace Dove for The Political Film of the Year 2024

  • Blix Not Bombs by Greta Stocklassova 

  • Bobi Wine: The People's President by Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp 

  • Defiant by Karim Amer

  • Invisible Nation by Vanessa Hope 

  • January 6th by Jules and Gedeon Naudet

  • Origin by Ava DuVernay

The Cinema for Peace Dove for Justice 2024

  • Justice by Doug Liman

  • Lakota Nation vs United States by Jesse Short Bull

  • Stamped From the Beginning by Roger Ross Williams

  • Theatre of Violence by Lukasz Konopa and Emil Langballe

  • War and Justice by Michelle Gentile, Marcus Vetter

International Green Film Award 2024

  • Common Ground by Josh Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell

  • The Green Planet by Paul Williams, Peter Bassett, Elisabeth Oakham & Rosie Thomas

  • Life on Our Planet by Adam Chapman, Sophie Lanfear, Nick Shoolingin-Jordan, Barny Revill & Gisele Sverdrup

  • Secrets of the Elephants by Glenn Barden, Fleur Bone, and Josh Helliker

  • Whale Nation by Jean-Albert Lièvre

  • We Are Guardians by Chelsea Greene, Rob Grobman, and Edivan Guajajara 

Cinema for Peace Dove on Global Health 2024 

  • Our Body by Claire Simon 

  • Pay or Die by Rachael Dyer and Scott Alexander Ruderman 

  • Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food by Stephanie Soechtig 

  • Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie by Davis Guggenheim 

  • The Walls of Bergamo by Stefano Savona 

The World Forum on the Future of Democracy, Tech, and Humankind
Now more than ever, we believe that global democracy and freedom are at stake - and that our world is changing so dramatically that we need to renew the way we live together while preparing for a very different future for humankind. In a united effort to shape the discourse on how to save democracy, humanity, and our planet, world leaders, Nobel Prize laureates, artists, technological innovators, and esteemed members of the international community will come together at The World Forum on the Future of Democracy, Tech, and Humankind, on February 18 & 19, at the Allianz Forum, next to the iconic Brandenburg Gate.

The World Forum will include contributions by His Holiness Pope Francis, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk, and Founder of Live Aid Sir Bob Geldof, among others. 

Film Premieres, Special Evenings, and Associated Events
In conjunction with the Cinema for Peace Gala and The World Forum, a curated program of associated events will take place, such as:

  • World Premiere of the film “The Quiet Diplomat: Ban Ki-moon and the Future of the United Nations” by Charlie Lyons, followed by a discussion with UN SG Ban Ki-moon, on February 18, 5 pm, at Allianz Forum.

  • A premiere of the film “Invisible Nation” by Vanessa Hope, with unprecedented access to Taiwan's sitting head of state, investigating the election and tenure of Tsai Ing-wen, the first female president of Taiwan. The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Vanessa Hope and will take place on February 19, 11:15 am, at the Reichstag Building.

  • “Special Evening with Hillary Clinton” - A special evening with Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton on February 19, 5 pm, at the Theater des Westens.

  • “A Special Evening with Sharon Stone & ‘Casino’ by Martin Scorsese”- A special evening with the iconic actress and accomplished contemporary artist Sharon Stone, involving an on-stage conversation and a special screening of the film “Casino” by Martin Scorsese. The income from the ticket sales will benefit Sean Penn's Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE), whose former fundraising platform “Help Haiti Home” was created in 2012 by Cinema for Peace for Sean Penn, and which currently supports several humanitarian projects in Ukraine.

  • Opening of Sharon Stone’s Art Exhibition TOTEM on February 17, 5 pm, at Galerie Deschler, with Sharon Stone’s paintings, shown for the first time outside the United States. 

Media Interviews and Pre-Conversations
Media representatives interested in interviews or pre-conversations with speakers and honorees such as Ban Ki-moon, Sharon Stone, Bob Geldof, Oleksandra Matviichuk, Meredith Whittaker, Pussy Riot, Marina Ovsyannikova, etc are encouraged to express their interest in the accreditation form below. 

In 2023, Cinema for Peace created THE COURT OF THE CITIZENS OF THE WORLD on the basis of evidence from thousands of documentary films, with a blueprint trial on the crime of aggression against Vladimir Putin in The Hague. In recent years, the world has witnessed a tragic rise in global tensions, a resurgence of international conflicts, and a worrying increase in authoritarian regimes, culminating in two full-scale wars that have claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, from the streets of Ukraine to the border of Israel-Palestine. This alarming trend not only jeopardizes the universal pursuit of peace but also coincides with a troubling decline in democratic values and freedoms, challenging the ideals the free world has long strived to uphold. Notably, Adolf Hitler’s best election result before becoming chancellor was 37 percent of the vote – exactly the number the extreme-right party AfD has in Sachsen according to recent polls.

For Press accreditations, please send the completed accreditation form to Communications@CinemaforPeace.com. 

For further information, please contact: 

 
Cinema Peace