Over 750 People See Vanessa Redgrave's Sea Sorrow at Town Hall
Actress and activist's directorial debut focuses on plight of refugees
More than 750 people turned out at Hammersmith Town Hall on Tuesday 6 December to see Sea Sorrow, a documentary film that focuses on the plight of refugees fleeing to Europe.
Sea Sorrow is Ms Redgrave’s first venture as a director and was unveiled during a special screening hosted by H&F Council, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session.
The title of the film is taken from Shakespeare's The Tempest in which Prospero tells his daughter Miranda of their 'Sea Sorrow' when they were shipwrecked after becoming refugees from Milan. The film ends with Ralph Fiennes and Vanessa Redgrave's granddaughter Daisy Bevan performing the scene.
Ms Redgrave chose Hammersmith Town Hall for the premiere following the council's work to break the deadlock preventing vulnerable child refugees living in the 'jungle' to reach safety.
People in Britain want to help," she said. "And we need to do the best we can no matter how large the obstacles. And they are large."
Social workers from the borough were the first to travel to Calais to officially document unaccompanied children in the camp which facilitated their reception in the United Kingdom.
Answering questions from the audience, Ms Redgrave described how her 'soul' had gone into the film, before announcing she was making a personal donation for charities that have provided the only protection the children in the Calais 'jungle' camp received.
"The injustice is huge," she said. "But what I’ve heard here tonight is also huge. This is a difficult time. But seeing everyone here tonight makes me feel like we’re ready to take it on. Thank you for coming. We must save the refugees."
The acclaimed actress and local human rights activist directed and starred in Sea Sorrow, which was filmed in Greece, Lebanon, Italy, Calais and Twickenham Studios. The film focused on the present – but also looked at the history of how refugees in Europe have been treated, particularly the desperate plight of Jewish people attempting to flee the Holocaust. It also features Vanessa Redgrave's own tale of displacement as a child during the Second World War, as well as the experiences of refugees from other historic and modern conflicts.
The film was produced by Ms Redgrave's son, Carlo Nero who lives in Hammersmith while she lives nearby in Chiswick.
After the screening Lord Alf Dubs, refugee campaigner and borough resident; Andrej Mahecic, the UK spokesperson for UNHCR; and Martin Sherman, a playwright whose grandparents fled from the pogroms in Tsarist-ruled Ukraine, joined Ms Redgrave and Cllr Stephen Cowan, Leader of H&F Council to discuss the challenging situation for the 65million people who are currently displaced around the world.
Cllr Cowan also visited the Calais camp at his own expense. Speaking to the packed hall he told how the children he met 'had suffered horrendous trauma' of torture, beatings and 'unbelievable cruelty – with many having been raped'. He added: "Their only real protection was provided by the charities and the volunteers. They were the very definition of 'lost children'."
Cllr Cowan then paid tribute to the 40 council social workers who volunteered with charity Citizens UK to travel to the Calais camp and assess how many children the council could accommodate with foster carers. Those in the audience received a round of applause.
"We were the only council in the country to send in volunteer social workers. The professional assessments they carried out helped form the basis of an action taken by charities which forced the British government to relent and let 500 of the most vulnerable children come to safe caring foster homes in the UK.
"We’re very proud of our social workers and grateful for the quiet diligence they deploy to keep children safe here in our borough and now also those that have come from the Calais ‘jungle’ camp," he added.
Lord Alf Dubs – who himself came to Britain as a six-year-old refugee from the Czech Republic on the Kindertransport – explained why he is passionate about his recent efforts to assisting child refugees in Calais gain their rightful protection in the UK.
"What has tipped the balance is public opinion. We as a country believed we should do something,” he said after the screening.
" It makes me proud to be living in a borough where we have a council that’s doing the right thing for humanity. Not many people in the country can say that – but we can in Hammersmith."
For more details on how to help refugees in the borough, visit the Hammersmith and Fulham Refugees Welcome Group website and the Hammersmith & Fulham Refugee Forum.
December 9, 2016
