HOLLYWOOD A-lister Gerard Butler will feature in a documentary being shown at the Cannes Film Festival about Mary’s Meals, the charity supported and run in Donegal by Father Eamonn Kelly.
The Scots actor appears in Generation Hope, which focuses on the charity’s projects in Malawi, Haiti and India.
The 30-minute film, by US director Charles Kinnane, will be exhibited at the festival’s Short Film Corner.
Mary’s Meals now feeds more than one million of the world’s poorest children every day they attend school.
Butler has supported Mary’s Meals for several years and has visited one of its sites in Liberia.
He previously appeared in a short film about the charity’s work, titled Child 31.
Mary’s Meals is enlisting the help of our global supporters to stage screenings in their communities – in venues ranging from living rooms, schools and churches to conference halls, theatres and cinemas – with free Generation Hope screening packs available to order from their website.
Mary’s Meals was born in 2002 when Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, from Argyll, visited Malawi and witnessed the plight of youngsters there who did not have enough to eat.
Mr MacFarlane-Barrow said: “When we were filming Generation Hope we couldn’t have imagined it would enjoy the exposure offered by such a high-profile international event.
“It’s an incredible gift to bring our work to new eyes, new ears and new hearts in this way.”
Describing what the film is about, he said: “Children who used to miss school are now in classrooms, children who were once too hungry to concentrate can now learn, children who used to be unhappy are laughing in their playgrounds, and children who were resigned to having no energy are chasing footballs.
“Now we see that a beautiful revolution is taking place as a new generation, once fed by Mary’s Meals, begins to find its voice.
“We call them ‘Generation Hope’ and this is what this film is about – the university students, singers, farmers, teachers, DJs, footballers and other young people who, well-nourished and well-educated, are now finding their own way in life.”
Generation Hope will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Father Eamonn is an active member of Mary’s Meals Letterkenny supporters group, which works hard to raise awareness of and vital funds for our school feeding programmes.
He has had several books published, including a collection of short stories called Mercy at Work, with all money from its sale going to Mary’s Meals.
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