The Leprosy Mission Australia
9 September 2024
Molokai: The Story of Father Damien (1999) is the latest iconic flick given a special re-release and an upgrade. But film enthusiasts will have to move fast to secure tickets with only one exclusive screening scheduled for Melbourne on October 12.
Starring Aussie actors David Wenham (AM), Kate Ceberano (AM), Aden Young and Sam Neill and directed by Paul Cox, Molokai is a critically acclaimed film that still resonates today.
Visually spectacular, it showcases the titular Hawaiian island. Yet, it’s the film’s profound story that continues to impact audiences a quarter of a century after its release.
“Stories can change us. Stories can change our outlook,” says actor David Wenham, reflecting on his leading role as Molokai’s Father Damien.
Molokai tells the true story of Damien, a nineteenth-century Roman Catholic priest from Belgium, who voluntarily took up a post on the island leprosy settlement. Amid appalling conditions, Father Damien offered unconditional love to people who had been ostracised for their illness with no hope of being healed.
Molokai’s re-release in theatres is a partnership between Fan Force and Leprosy Mission Australia. These special events will commemorate three significant anniversaries that, remarkably, coincide this year. The first is 25 years since Molokai’s release. The second, 15 years since Pope Benedict XVI canonised the film’s lead character, Saint Father Damien.
The third is the remarkable milestone of 150 years since The Leprosy Mission’s global founding.
“Leprosy is still a thing,” says Greg Clarke, CEO of The Leprosy Mission Australia. “Every 2 minutes, someone is diagnosed with leprosy.”
“Today, leprosy is curable. It wasn’t in the time of Father Damien. Yet. he dedicated his own life to making life better for the patients isolated from their families and left to die on Molokai.”
Clarke explains that significant progress has been made over 150 years, with new medicines and tools developed. The end of leprosy is possible within the current generation’s lifetime – if only people will allow their hearts to be moved to action like Father Damian did.
“We need compassionate people to help us finish the job and finally end leprosy transmission,” Clarke says.
It’s not often that attending the exclusive screening of an iconic film allows you to join the fight against a devastating disease, so this is an opportunity not to be missed.
Written by Kylie Beach. Kylie Beach is a writer for Leprosy Mission Australia.
For more information, to watch the movie trailer, and TO BOOK YOUR TICKETS, go to FanForce: https://fan-force.com/films/molokai/
MELBOURNE SCREENING direct link:
