Jaka Bizilj



Jaka Bizilj is a German writer, promoter, and film producer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Cinema for Peace Foundation.

Bizilj was born 8 December 1971 in Ljubljana, Slovenia and grew up in Slovenia, Libya, Tanzania, Malaysia and Germany. He studied politics, literature and film at the German University of Mainz and went on to become a journalist and political activist.

Promoter and producer
Jaka Bizilj is a writer, promoter, and producer. He began organizing concerts in 1995 with artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Bryan Adams, Montserrat Caballe and Liza Minnelli and toured with artists such as José Carreras. Since the end of the 1990s, he has been working internationally as a producer and was the largest presenter of open-air opera in Europe for many years. He annually staged up to 700 concerts and live productions. Among his productions are concerts with the filmmusic of movies like "Harry Potter", "Lord of the Rings", "The Hobbit", "Star Trek", the music of Hans Zimmer, and among others as "Magic of the Dance", Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita", Elton John’s musical Aida and the Broadway musical Jekyll & Hyde. He has also launched several cultural festivals.

In 2002, he founded the Cinema for Peace initiative and in 2008 the Cinema for Peace Foundation to create awareness of the social relevance of films and the influence of movies on the perception and resolution of global social, political, and humanitarian challenges of our time.

Bizilj is also involved in the production of films, including the Richard Curtis remake “” and the documentary “Letter to Anna” about Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. He was also involved in the realization of the documentary "This Prison Where I Live" about the detained Myanmar comedian "Zarganar" and the recent film productions "After the Silence" and raised funds for the development of the film "Song of Names" with Dustin Hoffman and Anthony Hopkins.

Together with the last living Nazi-war-crimes prosecutor from Nuremberg, Benjamin Ferencz, and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk Jaka Bizilj initiated in The Hague in February 2023 “The Court of the Citizens of the World” with international prosecutors and judges arguing a blueprint case on crime of aggression against Vladimir Putin resulting in a verdict on February 24, 2023, calling on the International Criminal Court and the United Nations to issue an arrest warrant against Putin. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant three weeks later on March 17, 2023, thus making Putin as the first European President a fugitive war criminal.

Charity
Bizilj distributed the Bosnian Oscar-winning war-satire "No Man's Land" by Danis Tanovic. Ahead of the G8 Summit in Germany, he produced at the initiative of Bob Geldof and Richard Curtis a remake of the Golden Globe-winning film "The Girl in the Café" with Iris Berben, Julia Jentsch, Jan Josef Liefers, and Catherine Deneuve in 2007.

Together with the Trust Fund for Victims at the International Criminal Court, he organized with the Cinema for Peace Foundation - "The Special Evening on Justice" on the eve of the International Criminal Court Review Conference of the Rome Statute in Kampala, Uganda. The Cinema for Peace Foundation presented on this occasion the first "Justitia Award" to honor the United Nations and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for establishing and supporting the International Criminal Court. The award was presented to Ban Ki-moon by the Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador Bianca Jagger.

On 8 June 2010, Bizilj hosted the "Sports for Peace" gala on the occasion of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa - the world's biggest single sporting event and the first ever FIFA World Cup to take place in Africa - bringing together the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, South African President Jacob Zuma, Madama Graça Machel, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, 1Goal Ambassadors and many other dignitaries from across the globe to address this serious issue - the second Millennium Development Goal (MDG): "achieve universal primary education by 2015".

In 2011, he organized for the first time a Cinema for Peace Dinner in Cannes and accompanied the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama to Wiesbaden with a film program and a charity dinner to support the culture of Tibet.

Bizilj produced the Los Angeles premiere of Cinema for Peace in January 2012 by staging “Help Haiti Home” benefiting Sean Penn's J/P Haitian Relief Organization.; In June 2012 Bizilj welcomed 100 personalities from the world of arts, film, and society on the occasion of the Art Basel fair and “Art & Cinema for Peace” in honor of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. This occasion included the premiere of the documentary film “Ai Weiwei - Never Sorry” by Alison Klayman. Actress Susan Sarandon concluded the evening with a video statement expressing the worldwide support for Ai Weiwei.

Productions
Entertainment / Shows
 * since 1996 - The Black Gospel Singers
 * since 1997 - Nabucco, Aida
 * since 1998 - Carmen
 * since 1999 - Magic of the Dance
 * since 2000 - Romanza with Helen Schneider, Königstein Castle Festival, Nahe-Festival (until 2005)
 * since 2001 - Stardance, Dancing Queen/Abbafever
 * since 2002 - Evita
 * since 2003 - The Vienna Johann Strauss Waltz Gala, Festival under the Stars (Herrenchiemsee Castle)
 * since 2004 - The Magic Flute, Jedermann
 * since 2005 - Last Night of Spectacular Classic, Arena di Bavaria, Wörthersee Festival
 * 2006 - The World Football Concerts at the FIFA World Cup, Jesus Christ Superstar, Galanacht des Musicals, Mozart Gala
 * 2007 - The Lord of the Rings in concert, Queen - a ballet homage by Ben van Cauwenberg
 * 2008 - Aida, the musical by Elton John and Tim Rice
 * 2009 - Jekyll & Hyde
 * 2011 - Phantom of the Opera Birthday Gala at the O2 World in Berlin, The Fantastic Shadows
 * 2012 - The Fantastic Shadows
 * 2015 – Herr der Ringe and comeback concert of Al Bano and Romina Power at Waldbühne Berlin
 * since 2016 - The Wall Museum at East Side Gallery in Berlin
 * 2018/2019 - Der Herr der Ringe & Der Hobbit in concert with Pippin Billy Boyd and others
 * 2018/2019 - The Music of Hans Zimmer & others
 * 2018/2019 - The Music of Der König der Löwen
 * 2020 - The Magical Music of Harry Potter - live in concert

Advocacy Events
 * since 2002 - annual Cinema for Peace Gala in Berlin
 * 2005 - Long Walk to Justice / Live 8 Germany
 * 2008 - Sports for Peace Campaign at the Summer Olympics in Beijing
 * 2009 - Cinema for Peace Dinner Honoring Mikhail Gorbachev on the occasion of the 20 anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall
 * 2010 - A Special Evening on Justice at the Review Conference of the Rome Statute in Kampala, Uganda
 * 2010 – Sports for Peace Gala Event South Africa
 * 2010 - Art & Cinema for Peace Dinner at the 41 Art Basel
 * 2010 - Special Youth Day Screening of "Themba - A Boy Called Hope" at Cape Town, presented by Desmond Tutu, starting the anti-AIDS-film-campaign
 * 2010 - An Evening for Africa in New York with Bob Geldof and Sharon Stone
 * 2010 - Green Evening in Berlin with Sebastian Copeland and Orlando Bloom
 * 2011 – Cinema for Peace Honorary Dinner Cannes with Sean Penn, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Jane Fonda
 * 2011 – Cinema for Peace Dinner and film symposium honoring Hans-Dietrich Genscher in Ljubljana
 * 2011 – Cinema for Peace Welcome Dinner in St.Tropez
 * 2011 – Cinema for Peace Dinner for Tibet, screenings, symposium, and speeches on the occasion of the visit of His Holiness the 14 Dalai Lama to Wiesbaden
 * 2011 - Cinema for Peace Evening on the Issue of Child Soldiers and petition in The Hague at the International Criminal Court
 * 2011 – Cinema for Peace Dinner in New York celebrating the presentation of the first universal human rights logo
 * 2011 - Justice Gala in New York staged together with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
 * 2012 - Cinema for Peace Los Angeles – Help Haiti Home
 * 2012 – Art & Cinema for Peace Art Basel in support of Ai Weiwei
 * 2012 – In the Name of Justice - Farewell Event for Luis Moreno-Ocampo at the International Criminal Court
 * 2012 – “Sports for Peace” London honoring Muhammad Ali and celebrating his core values on the occasion of the Olympic Games
 * 2012 – Cinema for Peace Dinner New York – Artists help Development and Climate Protection, honoring Sting and Trudie Styler
 * 2013 – Cinema for Peace Gala for Humanity, Los Angeles
 * 2013 - Cinema for Peace Dinner Honoring UN Women, Berlin
 * 2013 – humanitarian travel to Aleppo, Syria for BILD
 * 2014 – Cinema for Peace Heroes Dinner on the occasion of 25 years Fall of the Wall with Mikhail Gorbachev and Miklos Nemeth
 * 2014 – Cinema for Peace Symposium in Berlin to avoid a new Cold War (with the New Policy Forum)
 * 2014 – Visit of the Olympic Games in Sochi with members of Pussy Riot
 * 2015 - Cinema for Peace Real Life Heroes Award for Amelia Boynton Robinson
 * 2016 – Life vest installation with Ai Weiwei at Konzerthaus Berlin on the occasion of Cinema for Peace Berlin
 * 2019 – Act of Gratitude for Mikhail Gorbachev of German civil society and Federal Presidents on the occasion of 30 years Fall of the Wall
 * 2020 – Censored Ai Weiwei Film Festival in Berlin

Film Productions

 * Not the same procedure as every year - Dinner for All with Bob Geldof and Katja Riemann (2007)
 *  with Iris Berben, Julia Jentsch, Jan Josef Liefers and Catherine Deneuve (2007)
 * I don't feel like dancing short film (2008)
 * Eric Bergkraut's documentary Letter to Anna about the murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya (2008)
 * This Prison Where I Live, co-production for Rex Bloomstein's documentary about the Burmese comedian “Zarganar”(2010)
 * Steuer gegen Armut - Eine gute Idee, producer of the German spot of the Robin-Hood-Tax-Campaign, following an idea of Richard Curtis (2010)
 * After the Silence, co-production for Marcus Vetter's documentary (2011)
 * The Song of Names, co-production for Vadim Perelman's feature film, starring Anthony Hopkins and Dustin Hoffman (2012)
 * The Voices of Srebrenica, director (2015)

Awards

 * Václav Havel, the former Czech president, in 2008 committed the audience award for "Letter to Anna" at the One World International Human Rights Film Festival. The Prague festival uses international documentary films to highlight opportunities for individuals to champion human rights.
 * "I don't feel like dancing" received the award "Best Short Fiction Film" by the "GoEast Festival" in April 2008
 * Global Green Award 2018