By Tim Saunders on
Ben Affleck has accepted an invitation to testify at a congressional hearing about a documentary film he made in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Gimme Shelter is a four minute documentary set to the music of the Rolling Stones and focusing on humanitarian issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The actor – who recently welcomed a new baby into his family – is excited by the prospect, but is refusing to name the senator who invited him.
“He asked me to do it … and I said ‘yes,’ and he said, ’I’ll let you know when it is,’” said Affleck. He is unsure when the hearing will take place, but feels that his visits to the Congo will help raise awareness of the problems there.
“When awareness is raised, when constituencies start to pay attention, they are more likely to pay attention to that one thing than another,” he said. “What I can do is care about something. What I can do is make it important to my elected officials. Diplomacy is free.”
The UNHCR Gimme Shelter campaign hopes to raise $23 million in 2009 for emergency humanitarian assistance kits to help displaced persons in the Congo
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