La Solidaridad

The entertainment industry has barely squared up to the issues concerning world poverty today. With the exception of the much-publicized Live concert spearheaded by Bob Geldolf and political activist Bono and his U2 comrades, only a few have followed up with a personal conviction of using their God-given talents for a cause and instigate change.

Recently however, Sarah Mclachlan (one of my favorite singer-songwriters in the world!) has decided to team up with  acclaimed Music Video director Sophie Muller to bring a new MTV version of "World on Fire." (Click here to view.) The video shows a stark performance of Sarah interspersed with scenes of the standard cost of video production and how this money could have been used to provide food, medical supplies and education to developing nations.

Shot on a 15 dollar budget (the price of a DV tape) and production salary on pro-bono, Sarah says this version was created "to show how easy it can be to use your wealth to help immeasurable improvements in people´s lives." The numbers are staggering if only it could still appeal to our already desensitized sensibilities (as a result of media´s manipulation). However, this does not diminish Sarah and Sophie´s efforts in creating  a fearless depiction of reality: the self-denial, indifference and lack of care of the entertainment industry for the world´s problems today. Just few of the examples touched on the video: 5,000 dollars worth could cover the cost of make-up one day but could be used to pay for the schooling of 145 girls in Afghanistan; 200 dollars worth of a day´s salary of a production assistant is enough to send 100 children to school in Ethiopia for one term.

Chosen as one of the videos for the 5th annual Media That Matters Film Festival, Sarah says she is so happy to have "World on Fire" be recognized as a motivator of that kind of change. She says, "The song is about trying not to feel paralyzed when we see all that is wrong with the world, and remembering that even the smallest gesture can make a difference — corny but true. I wanted a video that wasn't about me and wasn't preachy, but one that would help shine a light on the tragedy and turmoil in the world and also show the beauty and strength of the human spirit. Sophie and everyone else who touched this video worked tirelessly and for free to make it happen. This was a labor of love for all the right reasons and I'm proud to be a part of it."