Tuesday, 22 July 2014 22:35

Richard Gere: "This festival has worldwide importance"

Seven breaths a minute to prevent war. Richard Gere teaches the Buddhist remedy people can have recourse to for contributing to world peace. Guest star of Giffoni Experience, 65-year-old actor from Philadelphia arrives at the most famous Cittadella in the world wearing a white shirt and a broad smile, and greets the crowd of photographers and journalists one by one.

 “I’m very happy to be here in Giffoni – says Gere – who’s come to Italy together with his 14-year-old son Homer – I esteem it a great honour to guest on a festival where youth from all over the world can meet and get in touch with one another. Such a thing is certain to make a positive impact on the whole universe. He doesn’t fear Hollywood, quite the opposite: “Most people see Hollywood as a greedy monster, but it’s just a place where movies are made. We don’t have to come to an agreement with Hollywood, but with something worse: that is our personal demons”.

Then he discusses his latest movie, “Time Out of Mind”, where he portrays a homeless: “The movie will be presented at Toronto Festival and afterwards at Rome Film Fest. The original script was written 25 years ago. A few details may have changed since then, but the world’s inner problems have stayed the same. I happened to come in contact with a single New York association looking after those people and their rights. New York is the only city in the world where, in compliance with the law, everyone must be granted a place to spend the night, a bed. In the movie we’ve tried to show the transition process towards becoming a homeless and all the bureaucracy following from it." 

They ask him about his eating habits: "I'm not a vegetarian. I eat fish, chicken sometimes, but I don't eat red meat. I think I'll end up completely avoiding products of animal origin. I once had a friend who was about to be a father, and who was a follower of the Dalai Lama. He asked him how he could teach something to his son. The Dalai Lama replied: 'Teach him how to respect every insect's life. Insects have a family around them too, he tries to survive every day. As insects are the least pleasant animals, if you can  teach this to him, you will have taught him everything." He goes on about international tensions and war winds: "I remember that many years ago a Japanese Zen teacher told me he didn't make any decisions until he could only breathe seven times a minute. Being able to lowering the number of breaths means you don’t react immediately, you don’t stay on the surface, but go deeper into your consciousness  until you become rational enough to realize that we all are equal human beings. I don't trust politics who react at once, we must be kind to each other, kindness is the starting point. "How do he choose your films? "I have always chosen roles that have important meanings to me. Sometimes I made wrong choices too." Finally, he meets the jurors: "How can you take up a career as an actor? My only advice is: Work hard, work hard, work hard! You must know it's very difficult, 99% actors are unemployed. But if you believe in your dreams, if you think this is the most important thing for you, just do it!"

Last modified on Friday, 01 August 2014 13:52