Cate Blanchett has today launched a dramatic film supporting UNHCR’s #WithRefugees campaign and petition.
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador heads cast of leading actors supporting UN Refugee Agency
Cate Blanchett has today launched a dramatic film supporting UNHCR’s #WithRefugees campaign and petition exclusively on the Facebook platform.
The film is based on a rhythmic poem entitled ‘What They Took With Them’ by Jenifer Toksvig, inspired by first person testimony from refugees of items they took with them when they were forced to flee their homes.
“As soon as I read Jenifer Toksvig’s poem, and even more so after I took part in an early performance of it, I was struck by its immense power,” said Blanchett, who is a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.
“The rhythm and words of the poem echo the frenzy and chaos and terror of suddenly being forced to leave your home, grabbing what little you can carry with you, and fleeing for safety,” she added.
Blanchett performs the poem alongside fellow actors Keira Knightley, Juliet Stevenson, Peter Capaldi, Stanley Tucci, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kit Harington, Douglas Booth, Jesse Eisenberg and Neil Gaiman. It is exclusively released on the Facebook platform.
The centre-piece to the #WithRefugees campaign is a petition asking governments to ensure all refugee children can go to school, all refugees have a safe place to live and that all refugees can work and contribute to their local community.
The petition already has almost 900,000 signatures and will be delivered to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the UN General Assembly on Friday September 16 ahead of the historic UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants on September 19.
“Over 65 million people across the world have been forced to leave everything behind them – everything – and start their lives again from scratch”, continued Blanchett. “As a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, I believe the very least each of us can do is work together to ensure refugees have the basics with which to build back their lives – an education, somewhere safe to live, the ability to work. I hope this film will urge people to go to withrefugees.org and sign the petition.”
The film of ‘What They Took With Them’ will be released on UNHCR’s Facebook page at 09.00 BST on 12 September as part of a ‘Facebook live’ from Australia with Cate Blanchett.
During the broadcast, Blanchett will talk about her personal experience of meeting refugees in Lebanon and Jordan with the UN Refugee Agency, and why the #WithRefugees campaign is so critical in the run up to the Summit on Refugees and Migrants. She will also be answering questions related to her work as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador submitted by viewers.
This broadcast will be the first in series of Facebook live events with UNHCR high profile supporters that will sweep across the world encouraging people in every region to sign the #WithRefugees petition, building momentum and support for the campaign in the lead up to the hand-in moment on 16 September.
One of the sources for the poem was Brian Sokol’s photography project, ‘The Most Important Thing,’ made in collaboration with UNHCR. Many of Brian’s photos, along with firsthand accounts from the refugees he photographed, are featured in the film.
To see the full version of the film, go to: www.withrefugees.org. To sign the petition, please visit unhcr.ph/withrefugees.
Please see below for details on how to view the film.
Notes to Editors
Media contacts
For questions related to ‘What They Took With Them’, FB Live or high profile supporters:
London: Coco Campbell Tel: +44(0)7715420076, [email protected]
For questions related to #WithRefugees campaign:
Geneva: Stephen Pattison, Tel: +41 (0)22 739 8275, Mob: +41 (0)795008774 email: [email protected]
For questions on the UN Summit on Refugees & Migrants:
Geneva: Ariane Rummery Tel: +41 22 739 8339 Mob: +41 79 200 7617 email: [email protected]
Please note none of the actors in the ‘What They Took With Them’ film are available for interview
Media materials and Facebook live broadcast schedule
For a full list of Facebook live dates and biographies and photos of the celebrities involved please go to: http://www.unhcr.org/refugeeday/?p=320696
About the #WithRefugees campaign
The #WithRefugees Campaign and its petition aim to build public empathy and support for refugees and asks governments to act with shared responsibility for people forced to flee their homes. The petition asks specifically asks governments to make sure: every refugee child gets an education, every refugee family has somewhere safe to live and every refugee can work or learn new skills to make a positive contribution to their community. The #WithRefugees petition will be delivered to UN headquarters in New York on September 16 ahead of the UN Global Summit on Refugees and Migrants, scheduled for the 19th September.
About Jenifer Toksvig
The rhythmic poem ‘What They Took With Them’ was written by Jenifer Toksvig. Toksvig wrote this piece of spoken word poetry for Moving Stories, an event at the National Theatre in London in aid of UNHCR. She also wrote several songs for the event. Toksvig then joined the Good Chance Encampment on the Southbank to run a Moving Stories workshop around the poem with producer Emma Manton and performer Niall Ashdown. In addition to writing musicals, in the traditional and immersive form, Toksvig is a book-writer, a facilitator for new musical writing, a producer and director, and an advocate through her work with the Writers Guild of Great Britain. For more information on Jenifer Toksvig: http://www.acompletelossforwords.com/
About Brian Sokol’s The Most Important Thing Project
If war and violence tore apart your country and you were forced to suddenly run for your life, what would you bring with you? American photographer Brian Sokol, working with UNHCR staff around the world, has posed this question to hundreds of people who have experienced this terror first-hand. The resulting photo project, “The Most Important Thing,” provides surprising and thoughtful answers to this question. Brian has worked on this project with refugees in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Malian refugees in Burkina Faso; Syrian refugees in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan; Sudanese in South Sudan; and Central Africans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Most Important Thing,” has been exhibited in photo festivals, galleries and museums on five continents. http://briansokol.com
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