|
Premiere to benefit charity helping struggling emigrants
By Fiona Audley
A CAMDEN-BASED charity which inspired the Gaelic-language film currently
causing a buzz throughout the movie industry will reap the rewards when
it premieres in Britain this month.
Cash gathered through ticket sales at the London launch of Kings that
kicks off the annual London Irish Film Festival on March 14 will be donated
to the Aisling Return To Ireland Project which helps struggling Irish
emigrants to reconnect with their roots.
Appropriately, the film also uncovers emigrant hardships through five
Irish characters who came to England with just their mother tongue and
a will to work and the sour turns their lives have taken.
And the work of Aisling, which was founded in 1993 by Kerry-born Alex
McDonnell and John Glynn, provided a perfect insight into that reality
for film director Tom Collins when he put the grim reality drama together.
Project co-ordinator Alex told The Irish Post: “Tom came along to
the project a number of times before making the film to get a feel for
the work we do here and the real struggles of the emigrants we try to
help.
“We opened the project because we could see there were a number
of Irish people who had come over to England and had not made such a go
of it.
“For whatever reason they had fallen on to hard times, maybe they
were homeless or suffering alcoholism and had no support network.
“We assess their needs, help them out here and if they want to we
can take them back to Ireland to help them reconnect with their homeland.”
The Aisling Project takes around 70 people back to Ireland for a holiday
every year which costs about £250 per head.
Alex explained: “It’s not much to pay for the difference it
can make to these people’s lives — for many a trip home alone
is too daunting as they may have broken their contacts and relationships.
“We can help them to get over that and help them to relocate if
they decide to do that but most are just happy to return for a short while.”
The charity has three salaried employees funded by the Díon Committee
at the Irish Embassy but relies on volunteers and donations to pay for
everything else.
Alex added: “Benefiting from the Kings premiere is a great thing
for us; it should help to kick off our next project — to build an
Aisling home in Ireland where we can house those emigrants who want to
return home.”
The King’s charity premiere will launch the three-day London Irish
Film Festival on March 14.
It will be screened at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn at 8.15pm and tickets
are available from the box office on 020 8328 1000.
For more information about the Aisling project, to volunteer or make
donations visit www.aisling.org.uk
|
