May 14, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 11, 1424

PARIS, May 13: Largely the result of the war in Iraq, the Cannes Film Festival, which opens on Wednesday, is to unveil a new prize — labelled the “Time for Peace” award — that will be given to the movie that best embodies the values of non-violence, tolerance and the respect for humanitarian values.

The prize will be awarded in conjunction with the publication of a new magazine, also titled ‘Time for Peace’, that, says its founder Robert Einbeck, will also expound the very values “that the Iraq war didn’t in any way represent.”

The magazine will appear in English and French. If the experiment works well at Cannes, says Einbeck, “then we plan to do the same thing with the following international festivals, those at Venice, Deauville and Berlin.”

Robert Einbeck, however, notes that “although the ‘Time for Peace’ award makes us advocates of peace in the world, this doesn’t mean we are necessarily for peace at any price, nor are we necessarily pacifists. For, as far as we’re concerned, any concept of peace that places liberty in danger is entirely unacceptable, too.”

The Elysee Palace is refusing to shoot down rumours according to which President Jacques Chirac will attend the festival.