NEXT WEDNESDAY, June 20th, is World Refugee Day and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is launching a series of events to promote greater awareness of its admirable cause.

A campaign entitled “do 1 thing” will be pointing punters towards books, music and, yes, films dealing with the refugee experience. The main event will be a screening of Mat Whitecross’s touching documentary Moving to Mars at the Light House in Dublin. The picture follows two families from Burma, members of the Karen ethnic group, who, having fled a refugee camp in Thailand, make their way to Sheffield, where, as the title suggests, they encounter much that is scarily unfamiliar. As is often the case in such situations, the children learn to assimilate, but the adults find it harder to leave the old life behind. A particularly funny moment sees them attempting to store noodles in a white box in the kitchen and displaying astonishment when they turn to ice.

Despite such incidents, the film remains warm towards its subjects throughout. Moving to Mars has particular relevance to this country as the Irish Government operates a scheme that has settled about 100 Karen refugees in Castlebar and Ballina. The do 1 thing campaign is also making its presence felt in Hughes Hughes bookshops, where readers are being encouraged to read such books as The Kite Runner. Go to the website for further information: unhcr.ie/do1thing.

The Ticket has 10 free pairs of tickets available for the Moving to Mars screening. Visit our Facebook page to apply.