GETTING INTO GERE
Alwynne Gwilt
Entertainment Reporter
Toronto Star, Canada
Aug. 14, 2006
It wasn’t movie star power that touched young people during a chat
with Richard Gere about AIDS and HIV. It was the actor’s passion
about the issues.
The spotlight shone on 48 youth involved in a film project for the
International AIDS Conference yesterday, despite the fact a passionate
dialogue on AIDS issues was headed by silver-screen fox Richard Gere.
>From the start of the chat on issues ranging from AIDS prevention to
Stephen Harper, Gere and actor wife Carey Lowell made it clear the
conversation was not about them but about how they could help the
youth who will make films over 48 hours about HIV/AIDS topics.
"I don’t really like giving speeches, so why don’t you ask some
questions so I know what you really want to talk about?" said the
white-bearded Gere right off the start.
Both he and Lowell are HIV/AIDS activists. Part of Gere’s foundation,
Healing the Divide, works on projects in India that aim to reduce
stigmatization and increase awareness of HIV/AIDS. He and Lowell
spent 30 minutes yesterday afternoon chatting with the youth in the
Community Dialogue Space of the Metro Convention Centre about how they
can help bring HIV/AIDS issues to the forefront in their countries.
"In India, (many orphans) love cricket so we got cricket stars to do
public service announcements … and that really had a large effect,"
said Gere to one youth from Uganda who asked how younger generations
can be taught the importance of HIV/AIDS early on and become productive
citizens.
"And the investment that one can make in any kid is education. It
gives them a sense of themselves, a sense of solidness and being in
their own skin, an understanding of how they fit into the world and
a sense of confidence in themselves."
"The best thing you can do for them is to give them a voice … and
empower them to tell their own stories," added Lowell. "That touches
a lot of people."
For many, the issue was also about why more celebrities are not
involved in activism, since their voices are often listened to by
youth around the world.
"There are many celebrities who do this kind of work, but it wasn’t
always that way," said Gere, who will also speak at a "Media and AIDS"
panel this evening. "That was one of the problems of getting the
problems of HIV/AIDS known, is that no one would be even associated
with the word.
"We had a president, Ronald Reagan, who never spoke the word AIDS …
and that pervaded all of our society, we had no leadership. So these
things begin from the top, don’t they?"
Perhaps the most poignant remark for Canadians came from Catherine
Renaud, a 19-year old from Whitby, Ont., who brought up Stephen
Harper’s refusal to attend the conference.
"A lot of us feel abandoned … people have spent their entire life
savings to be a delegate in this conference … it’s demonstrating to
us a huge lack of support and him (not) viewing the HIV/AIDS issue
as a primary issue," said Renaud to applause. "I was wondering what
your view is on the Prime Minister not taking (the time to be here)?"
"I don’t know your Prime Minister, but let me tell you about …
Prime Minister Singh in India," said Gere. "We went to see him and
he reiterated it was one of the most important things for us to deal
with. We said, `We’d like to have a media summit of all the media in
India,’ and he said, `That’s wonderful, where would you like to have
it?’ We said `We would like it at your residence … and we’d like
you to be there the entire day.’ And that’s what he did … heads of
all the media in India were there presided over by (Singh), discussing
and making commitments.
"Now that is leadership, not what you have here."
"I do hope someone can approach our Prime Minister and get the same
results," said Renaud.
"Absolutely. You have to keep working on it, but if he doesn’t change
don’t re-elect him, that’s what you can do," replied Gere to applause.
Chosen from more than 1,000 applicants, the 48 youth from countries
as diverse as Armenia and Guyana will be split into eight teams of
eight, and given two days – starting today at 4 p.m. – to write,
shoot and edit a three-minute film that will be screened and judged
at MTV headquarters Thursday night. Many are medical students who
have never used a camera, and questions inevitably arose about how
to make a good film and be a strong actor.
"I’ve been reminded that I am a western youth and I come from a lot of
power and privilege … I don’t know how I’d have any right portraying
someone who’s so different from me," said Andrea Yip, 20, from
Calgary. "How do you step into a role you’re so disconnected with?"
"All of us have experienced, to some degree, a little bit of
everything," said Gere. "We’ve all been sad, we’ve all lost people,
we’ve all been angry, we’ve all done horrible things. We’ve basically
had the same experience as every other being, so that’s an easy thing
to draw upon."
By the end, Gere was thanking the youth for their work, not the other
way around.
"The world is always changed by the youth, always … you have
ultimate power," said Gere, adding he learned this as a child of the
’60s. "Now if you can do it with generosity, with real love, with
real understanding, then the transformation is joyous.
"If you can educate kids, they know how to educate (their peers) on
a subject and that change then becomes organic … there’s nothing
imposed from outside and that’s when real change can happen. So I
wish you a lot of luck; thank you for doing this."