Director Emilio Estevez and his father, Martin Sheen, have debuted
their new film, “The Way,” in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
The movie,
which focuses on the Way of St. James, is being dubbed “the great film
of the Year of St. James.”
At the premiere of the film, which will eventually be shown on 150
screens across Spain, Culture Minister of Andalusia Roberto Varela
remarked that the movie is “a beautiful story” that perfectly represents
what the Way of St. James means.
“It exemplifies the physical and
exterior journey, but above all the journey of interior transformation,”
he added.
The film’s producer, Julio Rodriguez, said the film will be seen on
150 screens in the country and later in U.S. theaters.
He said he hopes
the movie will be viewed “all over the world” because of its
“universal” appeal.
Rodriguez and Estevez have been pleased with the response to the film
especially among young people.
Trial screenings in the U.S. drew an
average audience of 300-400 people. Estevez said 97 percent of those
who screened the film said they would recommend it, and 90 percent said
they would like to walk the Way of St. James. “This is about educating
Americans about what the Way is,” he stated.
A “love letter”
“This film is a love letter addressed to Spain,” Estevez told
reporters, noting that his father and grandfather are both from the
Spanish region of Galicia.
Martin Sheen said the film has fulfilled “a life-long dream” and that
he was happy to “return home” to his roots in Galicia. Returning one
year later to Santiago to see the finished product was an emotional
experience, he added.
Estevez said it was a “blessing” to work with his father and that he
witnessed “many miracles” while directing the film, especially “finding
the right people at the right time for the right thing,” he said.
Filmed during September, October and November of 2009 along the
ancient Way of St. James that leads to the city of Santiago de
Compostela, “The Way” recounts the story of Tom Avery, an American
doctor who travels to France after learning of the death of his son,
killed in the Pyrenees while walking the Way of St. James. He decides
to finishes his son’s journey and experiences his own spiritual
awakening.
Co-starring Deborah Kara Unger, Yorick Van Wageningen and James
Nesbitt, the film was shot entirely on location along the Way of St.
James.
SIC: CNA/INT'L