Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, Pope Francis, Documentary Filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky Earn Cinema For Peace Award
deadline.comUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Pope Francis and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky are sharing the Cinema for Peace Award, an honor recognizing their “contributions to the freedom of Ukraine and humanitarian efforts to protect civilians and children.” The award presented by the Cinema for Peace Foundation is dedicated to children who have lost their lives in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022.
Thousands of people, including children, have been killed in Russian bombing and artillery attacks on civilians. Cinema for Peace has previously honored Muhammad Ali, Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jane Goodall, and Hollywood icons Sean Penn for his work in Haiti, Angelina Jolie for opposing genocide, and George Clooney “for creating critical consciousness” with his 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck. “But this is the first time that two global leaders and one filmmaker were honored with a joint award,” a released noted, “and that the awards are dedicated to someone — the children who lost their lives in the war in Ukraine.
The three awards have an engraving of pictures of three innocent children who were killed on March 8, 2022, by a missile — Obodzinsky Volodymir (14 years old), Deyneko Nicol (1 year old), and Deyneko Denis (1 year old).” The pope, who has consistently called for an end to the violence in Ukraine, received his award on Tuesday at the Vatican.
Later in the evening, Afineevsky and President Zelenskyy – represented by Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See — received their awards at a ceremony at the European University of Rome.
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