SOUTH AFRICA: Blockbuster film benefits AIDS orphans

JOHANNESBURG, 13 May 2005 (PLUSNEWS) - South African AIDS orphans are to benefit from the charity premiere of 'Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith' held on Thursday in Los Angeles, US.

Almost $1 million raised from the preview has been awarded to the US-based NGO, Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA), and its new initiative to provide comprehensive care to children who have lost one or both parents to the disease.

ANSA executive director Sharon Gelman noted that the film's theme of "good versus evil" was a metaphor for the struggle faced by the country in overcoming the "seemingly insurmountable challenge" of HIV/AIDS.

Estimates put the number of AIDS orphans in South Africa at over one million - more than any other country in the world.

"We consider it a great honour to be hosting the Los Angeles premiere of the film," Gelman said in a statement.

With its new child-care programme, 'It Takes a Village', ANSA aims to make vital services available to AIDS orphans, their caregivers and the general community.

Although presently only running in the KwaZulu-Natal province - believed to be "ground zero" of the pandemic in South Africa - ANSA is seeking ways to expand its programme to other communities and provinces.

"I'm delighted that the screenings can help these amazing organisations, which do such important work," the film's director, George Lucas, confirmed.

He is using simultaneous premieres in 10 cities across the US to raise funds for nine other charity organisations, as he has done with the opening of previous Star Wars films.

The selected organisations have been hailed by Lucas as "leaders in providing direct services and advocacy" to the needy.

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