My grandfather, Charlie Chaplin, remains a fascinating, enigmatic and iconic persona firmly implanted on the cultural landscape, worldwide. His work was critical to the foundation and success of the film industry and remains an enduring legacy in the history of cinema. He helped boost motion pictures from novelty entertainment to art form, creating fresh meaning by breaking from established conventional performances during his time and successfully conveying, onscreen, a deeper meaning of the human condition.

The immortal characteristics of The Little Tramp character he created still speak a universal language. The character's homelessness, his jaunty walk, the underclass of society in which he was placed and the way the world always shunned him elicited compassion from audiences across the social spectrum. The Little Tramp exemplified my grandfather's humanist affinity for the underdog. Charlie Chaplin's unique artistic vision in portraying The Little Tramp's persistence and ability to overcome adversity and turmoil, as well as his limitless empathy and compassion for others who were downtrodden, made this character into a social icon, remaining as relevant today as it was more than 80 years ago.

The message is one I hope to carry forward in my efforts to further my grandfather's legacy throughout the world. Limelight Films (a division of De Basseville Financial Trust S.A. Group), my production and distribution company based in Los Angeles, recently re-scored 16 of my grandfather's early film shorts with Polish composer Krzesimir Debski. Included among these shorts are The Adventurer, The Bank, The Rink, The Pawn Shop, By The Sea and Easy Street. We hope to bring these classics to new audiences around the world and introduce children to the magic of Charlie Chaplin for the first time. (Limelight films has also produced Japan, directed by Fabien Pruvot and starring Peter Fonda, a highly stylized, suspenseful and edgy thriller in which I'm proud to have a featured role.)

Additionally, my goal is to honor my grandfather's work by focusing my company's efforts on developing new opportunities to bring together international talent, with diverse actors, writers and directors whose varied backgrounds and experiences will result in films projecting a richer and broader world viewpoint.

As an actress, I've been working on a TV movie project titled Chasing Rubi: The Truth about Porfirio Rubirosa. Portraying Rubirosa's last wife, Odie Rodin, I was struck by the glamorous life and times of the 1950s. However, reference to a^?oethe '50sa^?? also conjures up the unpleasantness of the era for my grandfather and my grandmother Oona, with the McCarthy Era inquisitions in full force.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO
MOVING PICTURES MAGAZINE