Nov 02, 2026 6:07pm IST
Richard Gere: ‘Step Up as Filmmakers and Make Great Films That Move the Hearts and Minds of People’
On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Dharamshala, a long queue snaked around the Hermann Gmeiner Hall to catch a glimpse of Hollywood actor Richard Gere – a longtime friend and supporter of the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF). As a dear friend and devotee of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the international celebrity has often used his voice to spread the message of compassion and non-violence in the world.
At the 15th edition of DIFF, Gere was in conversation with Geshe Lhakdor La, the Director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives and former translator to His Holiness. Excerpts from the conversation where the 77-year-old superstar – known for his films such as “Pretty Woman” and “An Officer and a Gentleman”, spoke about the need for compassion and peace, on taking responsibility for our governments and on the freedom of artistic expression:
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On co-existing in peace
I get overwhelmed every time I see a photograph of the Earth from the moon during the first Apollo mission in space. Those incredible pictures of this beautiful blue planet floating in vast emptiness. How can we not get along with each other? We are on this boat moving around together. We know there's enough food for everyone. We know there's enough shelter and medicine. We are so deeply connected.
On governments
How can we have a president of the United States who says these awful things? Who somehow has lacked that human intelligence that we are talking about? I don’t mean this as a political statement – or maybe, I do. A government is not paper. It's human beings. I am that government. I allow that government to do it. You are allowing your government to do what it does. And you have to take responsibility for your sacrifices in that matter. Gandhi said, I will make the sacrifice. I will be out there. I'll put my life on the line. Every single one of us is responsible for the world we live in. I am responsible for President Trump. I didn't work hard enough to stop his cruelty and incompetence from being allowed to come to power. I am responsible for that. You are responsible for your world the same way.
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As brothers and sisters, we've got to stand up. We know what's right and wrong. We know we can't have starving children on this planet. We know we can't have abused children. We all have to stand up and say, ‘No, we will not allow this. We will sacrifice ourselves to some degree’. Some of us are capable of sacrificing our lives. I'm not capable of that. Stand up to the degree that we are able to be responsible.
On art as expression
The musicians, the poets, the writers, the actors and the dancers speak to the heart of a culture. Their methods of expression do not have to be completely political, but it has to have that purity of an artist's heart. And that's what inspires a culture. You have a responsibility to communicate and communicate at subliminal levels through art. It touches much deeper than force or an argument. It goes into more powerful places in the human mind. Whenever I talk to leaders - and I find myself fortunate enough to be able to do that - I always say, ‘listen to your poets, listen to your musicians’. Please step up as a filmmaker and take that responsibility and make a great film that moves the hearts and minds of people.
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