‘Mother Teresa and Me’ Set to Release for One Night
By Marie
‘Mother Teresa and Me’, a new movie that weaves together the lives of two women experiencing self-doubt, but, in the end, both women meet the challenge of their vocations despite their personal struggles on Oct. 5, will be released by Fathom Events for one night only in 800 theaters across the United States.
“Mother Teresa and Me” tells the story of Kavita, a young woman who finds herself with an unexpected pregnancy. Battling whether or not to get an abortion, she returns to her hometown in India where her now very old nanny shares the story of Mother Teresa’s first days working in the streets of Calcutta. Learning how Mother Teresa faced many doubts after no longer being able to hear the voice of Jesus, Kavita is inspired.
Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz is the actress who plays Mother Teresa in the movie. She spoke with CNA about how she prepared for the role, what she learned from the saint she portrayed, and how her time in India inspired her to start a foundation.
Fritschi-Cornaz explained that the movie originated 14 years ago when she visited a Bollywood studio in Mumbai, India. While stuck in traffic on her way to the studio, street children began approaching the taxi and knocking on the windows.
“For the first time in my life I met street children and I realized this lack of perspectives,” Fritschi-Cornaz said. “I was tremendously moved and shocked.”
The actress said she knew she had two choices: Either ignore the pain she was experiencing or do something about it.
“For me, it was clear that I had to do something, but I didn’t know what.”
As she entered the Bollywood studio, a painting of St. Teresa of Calcutta hung on the wall. In an instant, Fritschi-Cornaz turned to ask the producer if they had ever thought of making a movie about Mother Teresa.
She explained that her idea was not to make a film about the saint, “but as this human being behind the saint who actually had the courage and the strength to get up every morning to face that misery.”
Unable to find an investor in Bollywood, Fritschi-Cornaz and her husband, Richard, decided to create the Zariya Foundation (Zariya means “source” in Urdu). The Zariya Foundation aims to alleviate the suffering of the poor, abandoned, sick, and dying and uplift the standards of health and education for the youth around the world, according to its website.
The goal for the married couple was that the foundation and film would be “the source of inspiration for audiences worldwide. And, on the other hand, a source of financial support for the poorest children in education and health care.”
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