Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams is starring in a new documentary about the famous Che Guevara portrait.
The film, entitled “Chevolution,” is a “story of the power of a single image,” referring to the famous headshot of the iconic revolutionary, and features interviews with Che admirers such as Adams and actor Antonio Banderas.
“Chevolution” was made by one of Adams’ friends, Trisha Ziff, who worked with the Northern Irish politican in the past on a Bloody Sunday photo exhibit.
The film, which will have its British premiere this Friday, looks at the worldwide impact of the famous photo of the guerilla warrior wearing a single-starred beret and staring intensely into the distance. The photo, which represents resistance and revolution, can be seen on posters and t-shirts around the world.
In his interview, Adams states that the revolutionary spirit of the iconic image inspired civil rights marches in Northern Ireland in 1968 before the Troubles began.
The Irishman also claims that the photo fuelled Vietnam War protests in the U.S.
While Adams speaks, the film shows a montage of Che murals in Belfast.
“I suppose people from my background were drawn to that image, because of what Che Guevara represented,” Adams says.
Guevara was born in Argentina in 1928 to a family of Irish descent – his father’s name was Ernesto Guevara Lynch.
Che visited Ireland in 1964 and while there, celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in Limerick.
He wrote to his father on this visit, jokingly stating: "I am in this green Ireland of your ancestors. When they found out, the television [station] came to ask me about the Lynch genealogy, but in case they were horse thieves or something like that, I didn't say much.”
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