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Hillary Clinton and Sharon Stone shared the stage at the annual Cinema for Peace funder raiser in Berlin on Monday night with the latter presenting the former U.S. secretary of state with the NGO’s Cinema for Peace Award.
Stone described Clinton as an inspirational figure in her life: “The things you’ve said have changed my life, changed the direction and changed the course of the things I’ve chosen to do.”
Clinton gently ribbed Stone about her gala gown, a tie at the front robe covered in mauve spots.
“To my friend Sharon Stone who can look amazingly beautiful in anything. When she walked in, I was like, ‘Wow, who besides Sharon Stone could wear a gigantic bath robe and look stunning… you are one of a kind my friend, one of kind,” she said.
Further honorees included Pope Francis, who was seen receiving the award on taped recording, and former UN chief Ban Ki-Moon, who was also in the room.
Later in the evening, an original artwork by Stone sold for €50,000 in a fund-raising auction. Other lots included one entry to the pre-Academy Awards the Night Before party at Fox Studios in L.A. and a screenplay for Golda signed by actress Helen Mirren
The Clinton-Stone exchange was one of the lighter moments in an otherwise weighty evening which reflected on the death this week of Russian political activist Alexei Navalny, the rise in anti-Semitism in the light of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Southern Israel and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Bob Geldof, Clinton and Russian Pussy Riot dissident Nadya Tolokonnikova were among those paying tribute to Navalny.
The Cinema for Peace Foundation had a special connection with the late dissident having organized his airlift from Russia after his poisoning in 2020, at the request of Tolokonnikova.
“He was a Nelson Mandela for the 21st Century,” said the foundation’s head Jaka Bizilj.
Tolokonnikova told the gala guests that even if Navalny friends and collaborators were “heartbroken” about his death, they had to remain strong in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We can’t let him get away with any of the crimes he commits. He just murdered my friend. He continues to murder Ukraine. We can’t give anything to Vladimir Putin,” she said.
“We have to use all that we to fight him, in art, sanctions, in supporting Ukraine and supporting dissidents inside Russia. When I was imprisoned, I was supported by strong women and men around the world. Some of them are in this room right now. Secretary Clinton, Sharon Stone and Jaka.
Earlier in the evening, Tolokonnikova told Deadline that she had been heartened by the public pledge on Monday by Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya to carry on his fight for democracy in Russia.
Other oppressive regimes under the spotlight on Monday evening included that of Uganda, with popstar-turned-political activist Bobi Wine putting in appearance as documentary Bobi Wine: The People’s President won the Cinema for Peace Dove for Political Film of the Year.
Other prize winnerss the included Lakota Nation vs. United States (Dove for Justice), Motherland (Dove for the Most Valuable Documentary) and Four Daughters (Dove for Women’s Empowerment).
Exceptionally, three films – One Life, Golda and The Zone Of Interest – shared the Most Valuable Film of the Year award as the event put the spotlight on the rise of anti-Semitism in the wake of the October 7 attacks.
“I’m born Slovenian, but I’m a German citizen living in Berlin, where the Holocaust was planned and executed. It’s a city where people are celebrating the murders of October 7… I thought this would never happen again,” said Bizilj.
Golda director Guy Nattiv and the film’s star Helen Mirren attended the gala to mark the triple prize, taking to the stage with 102-year-old Holocaust survivor Margot Friedlander, who has made it her later life’s work to talk to youngsters about her experiences.
Looking back in history to the peace deal that was brokered between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1973, following the departure of Golda Meir, Nattiv told the guests he hoped for similar scenario now.
“They saved millions of lives. Here’s to peace between Palestinians and Israelis and a new leadership in Israel and in Palestine,” he said.
The Cinema for Peace Foundation was created in 2008 as an international non-profit organization with the goal to foster change through film. Over the years it has worked with a host of stars including Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.
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