A chance meeting on a plane between Emilio Estevez and longtime Bill Clinton pal Rolando Gonzalez-Bunster turned into a magic screening of “The Way” Wednesday night. The movie, directed by Estevez and starring his father, Martin Sheen, is about a spiritual journey across Spain’s Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Sheen’s character goes on the Pyrenees pilgrimage with the ashes of his only son, and three others looking for a new path. The screening, to benefit the Walkabout Foundation, which works to find a cure for paralysis and donates wheelchairs to those in need, happened after Estevez ran into Gonzalez-Bunster, a Georgetown University friend of Clinton, on a flight to Madrid last year. Rolando’s son, Luis, was paralyzed in a 1994 car accident, and he and his sister, Carolina, launched the foundation in 2009 with a 540-mile family journey along the Camino. Luis completed the route using the strength of his arms.

LOU LUMENICK’S REVIEW OF ‘THE WAY’

Estevez said, “You often think of miracles as some otherworldly thing, but they are very human.” Describing how he met Rolando on a plane, he said, “Life is full of those miracles, and it is our obligation to pay attention to them. We would not be here tonight if Rolando hadn’t had the courage to reach out.” Clinton, with daughter Chelsea, gave the keynote speech and praised Luis’ courage, describing him as, “the only person I know ever to cross Spain with the power of his arms and his heart.” He added, “Rolando has now convinced me I am going to make this trip with him. If I can get to where I am in good enough shape, maybe we’ll do it. Thank you all for making my life so much richer.”