Jude Law Preaches Peace

Thu., Jul. 19, 2007 11:15 AM PDT by Josh Grossberg

For Jude Law, the cause outweighed the risks.

Looking to make a difference beyond the big screen, the Oscar-nominated actor traveled in secrecy to remote, war-torn areas of Afghanistan to shoot a documentary promoting the importance of nonviolence to mark the United Nations' International Day of Peace.

Law, 34, spent a week in the conflict-ravaged country accompanied by British filmmaker Jeremy Gilley and a small, but able, crew, and interviewed a host of government officials, military men, humanitarian leaders and children for the feature-length movie, which aims to build global support for an annual worldwide ceasefire to be held Sept. 21.

"It's been an extraordinary trip," the thesp told reporters at a news conference in Kabul. "This film is about documenting and seeing how peace day can save people's lives. It's about all of us recognizing the day."

The United Nations' General Assembly created Peace Day on Sept. 7 2001 as part of its annual calendar of events after an intense lobbying campaign by Gilley and the Peace One Day organization, which he founded in 1999 in an effort to get the world to stop fighting for one day.

"The message is to recognize and celebrate a day of peace, a single day," commented Law. "Obviously the hope is that it will have a ripple effect on the other 364."

The Cold Mountain star visited schools, a refugee camp and a number of United Nations' Children's Fund-supported programs in Kabul and the eastern part of the country where incidents of suicide bombings by Taliban followers have been on the rise.

Law noted that while the trip was not advertised for safety reasons, he came away feeling undaunted and energized by their mission.

"My preconception was fed by the media and there was certainly concerns about security. On arrival it becomes very apparent that it is very different to that. This is a country full of hope," he said.

"It was a situation that I found intriguing. I felt that if it was safe for Jeremy it must be safe for me."

This is Gilley's second film addressing the need for a Peace Day. The project is meant to document the real-life results his optimistic vision has had in hatching humanitarian initiatives that have improved peoples' lives. His first documentary, Peace One Day, chronicled his efforts to rally world leaders through the U.N. to adopt the annual occasion.

The director said he hopes to screen the new work featuring Law in more than 70 international film festivals in various countries around the world.

When he's not serving as a messenger of peace, the Alfie star is once again busy remaking Michael Caine movies. Law just wrapped production on a Kenneth Branagh-helmed retelling of the Academy Award winner's 1972 thriller, Sleuth; the film is due out in October.