Poverty and Prayer Produced, written and directed by Gerard Thomas Straub Introduction to the Film This 89-minute film combines the most powerful scenes from his first five films – When Did I See You Hungry?, Embracing the Leper, Rescue Me, Endless Exodus, and Holy Pictures – and offers viewers a mosaic of images of poverty and the poor, reflection on how they have impacted him, and the necessity of a deeply prayerful spirituality for confronting the evil of poverty. The excerpt from When Did I See You Hungry?, narrated by Martin Sheen, is a photographic meditation on the plight of the poor in nine nations and our responsibility to help. Embracing the Leper reveals the depressing world of 45,000 persons with leprosy in the Amazon region of Brazil. Rescue Me presents the difficult life of 10,000 homeless persons on the streets of Los Angeles. The excerpt from Endless Exodus unveils the poverty and desperation of the poor in El Salvador that drives them to migrate to the US – “It’s go North or go hungry.” The excerpt from Holy Pictures describes the kind of spirituality that makes long-term solidarity with the poor possible.

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Gerry’s statements of his deeply held and courageously lived out religious convictions and his poignant visuals disturb and challenge viewers at many levels. Gerry makes us see what we would rather not. His film engages us emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, and behaviorally. He invites us to feel and empathize more deeply, to think more critically, to pray more faithfully, and to act more courageously. His personal witness is as inspiring as it is troubling. As an expression of the Gospel, Gerry’s life and films are indeed “good news for the poor.” But they await the viewers’ response to become even “better news for the poor.”

A Note from the Filmmaker, Gerry Straub
There are no easy answers to the problems the people in this film face. It will take nothing short of a revolution in our thinking and acting to improve their lot. You will need to stop your life for an evening (or more) in order to understand what it will take to give life to the people in this film. Surrender to the film. Allow the images and words to slowly wash over you. Don’t just watch the film – pray the film.”

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