J.K. Rowling and Eddie Redmayne Talk Care for Children and Lumos

This weekend, J.K. Rowling and the cast and crew of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them held a special early screening of the new Wizarding World film in support of J.K. Rowling’s children’s initiative/charity Lumos. Eddie Redmayne joined Jo Rowling on stage to ask her questions about Lumos–a topic which he had just learned of, researched, and was fascinated by at our round table interview with him last week.

At our round table interview, Eddie said of Lumos:

“Also, around the time I had been introduced, there was an article in the UK…about LUMOS, J.K. Rowling’s charity. And I had no idea about the institutionalization of children in countries in which orphanages still exist. It is something that I had been reading around, and felt, as J.K. Rowling manages to do, it felt in this huge, epic scale film, it felt very true.”

At the Lumos screening of Fantastic Beasts, Jo and Eddie also took the stage to educate the audience about Lumos, its goals and its achievements. Part of their question and answer session has been posted online (thanks to Lumos) and can be watched below:

Lumos reported on the event last Saturday, saying:

Sitting across from each other on the stage of perhaps the most celebrated concert hall in America, before an enthralled sold-out audience, the acclaimed writer and actor talked at length about the work of Lumos in helping children around the world to leave orphanages and institutions and return them to their families.  

 

“We know that children who are raised in institutions suffer developmental delays, that they tend to be physically stunted, they normally have psychological trauma – it is just not what nature intended for children to be herded together and not given individual love and care,” said J.K. Rowling. “This is an entirely solvable issue. Lumos’ ambition – and we believe it’s achievable – is that by 2050, we will have ended institutionalization globally.”

 

She concluded: “The last thing I would say, particularly to young people in the audience today – I would reiterate that we need to change minds… do a little bit of research, and make sure you are supporting families to stay together.”

 

The two artists went on to talk about the new film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and were joined on stage by director David Yates and cast members Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Katherine Waterston and Alison Sudol, before introducing the film to the nearly 3,000 guests at Carnegie Hall.

J.K.Rowling and Academy Award winning actor Eddie Redmayne discuss Lumos, the charity founded by Rowling over a decade ago, at a special screening of Warner Brothers Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, at Carnegie Hall in New York, Saturday, November 12, 2016. Lumos is an international NGO which works to end the institutionalization of children worldwide. (Photo – Stuart Ramson for Lumos)