Desperate Journeys, Sea Prayer
Desperate Journeys, Sea Prayer
Sea Prayer was first produced for public release as a virtual reality experience in collaboration with UNHCR and The Guardian. It was released on 1 September 2017 to mark the second anniversary of the death of three year old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi.
Sea Prayer will be published in print and e-book format from 30 August 2018, with illustrations by Dan Williams, to coincide with the third anniversary of the death of Alan Kurdi and the launch of UNHCR’s Desperate Journeys report. The report provides an overview of the changing patterns of movement to and through Europe and challenges and risks those seeking international protection face in accessing territory and asylum procedures.
In June 2018 Khaled travelled to Lebanon and Italy (Sicily) with UNHCR to gather content (photos, films, writing) in support of the launch of Sea Prayer and Desperate Journeys.
1. Photos and Video:
Photos of Khaled meeting refugees in:
- Lebanon, Italy
- To order images please register for an account on Refugees Media. Instructions for ordering images are available here.
B-roll package of Khaled’s visit to Lebanon and Italy:
- link
- To order the b-roll package please register for an account on Refugees Media. Instructions for ordering assets are available here.
Khaled Hosseini - Desperate Journeys film:
- Available for previewing here (approx 23 min duration): [link]
- Please contact UNHCR if you have interest in screening this at an event or pitching to media
Original Sea Prayer Guardian VR film files for dubbing:
NB – the Guardian has kindly granted free license to the 360 film of Sea Prayer for dubbing in different languages solely to accompany the promotion of Sea Prayer the book if of use to marketing campaigns in foreign markets, with the following conditions:
- In all accompanying materials around screening/online publication etc The Guardian must be correctly cited:
In collaboration with The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), The Guardian has brought Khaled Hosseini’s Sea Prayer to life through a narrative, animated, virtual reality film created using Tilt Brush, a tool for painting in a 3D space with virtual reality. (Optional extra info for credit: The piece is accompanied by a moving score, composed for Sea Prayer by Sahba Aminikia, an Iranian-American contemporary classical music composer, and performed by award-winning string quartet Kronos Quartet and musician David Coulter, widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost musical saw players.)
- Other than adding the dubbing, it is not permissible to alter the film in any way (no edits to film/credits/music etc)
- A record of usage is shared back with UNHCR in order to incorporate the information into an impact report for the Guardian.
For more info on Khaled’s role as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador visit unhcr.org/khaled-hosseini
2. Desperate Journeys report
Press release
Desperate Journeys report
- Available here: [link]
3. Toolkit for publishers
- Available here: [link]
This document is for all publishers and includes information and guidelines on:
- Background information on UNHCR’s involvement with Sea Prayer to date
- Confirmation of Khaled’s official title as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and links for information on his work/role as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and to our archive of images of Khaled in the field with UNHCR.
- Approved ‘donation copy’ for all publishers (regardless of whether or not they are donating % of publisher proceeds to UNHCR)
- Confirmation of UNHCR’s full, official brand title.
- Logos and usage guidelines and links
- Bank information for those publishers kindly donating a % of proceeds to UNHCR, and reference info so we can track donations and thank/report back appropriately.
4. Media Contacts
For any questions the main UNHCR HQ project coordinators are:
- Coco Campbell ([email protected]; +44 7715 420076)
- Sarah Epstein ([email protected]; +44 7572 601088)
UNHCR International Media Contacts (by region and country)
We suggest coordinating with the UNHCR media officer in your country to make them aware of your PR/Marketing campaign for Sea Prayer and they can give more information on their local comms plans and messaging around the Desperate Journeys report and how/where they are placing content including an opinion piece by Khaled, a feature piece by Khaled, and the 20 minute film featuring Khaled.