Sheffield Doc/Fest has announced that the 2009 festival will open on November 4 with the world premiere of Moving To Mars: A Million Miles From Burma.
The feature-length documentary is directed by The Road To Guantanamo director Mat Whitecross (The Road to Guantanamo) and produced by Karen Katz for London-based Coded Pictures.
Moving To Mars, follows two refugee families from Burma over the course of a year that will change their lives completely. Forced from their homeland by the repressive military junta, the families, who are from Burma's Karen community, have lived in Thai refugee camp, Mae La Camp for almost 20years. A UN relocation scheme offers them the chance of a new life, but their new home, in Sheffield, will be different to everything they've ever known.
With intimate access, Whitecross tracks their moving and sometimes humorous struggles with 21st century Britain. Their stories give a unique insight into the experiences of displaced people in the UK, whilst showing the human consequences of Burma's political climate.
Doc/Fest Festival Director, Heather Croall said: "The synergy between the city of Sheffield, Sheffield Doc/Fest and Moving To Mars is exceptional.
"The people of Sheffield have a long history of welcoming displaced people and at a time when Burma is again hitting the headlines it is especially fitting to be opening Doc/Fest with the world premiere of Mat's Moving To Mars."
According to the City of Sanctuary movement figures, since 2005 Sheffield has welcomed around 250 Burmese refugees, most of them from the Karen community, an ethnic group particularly persecuted by the ruling junta. Sheffield was the first gateway city in the UK to welcome Burmese refugees.
Whitecross said: "For Moving To Mars to be chosen as the opening night film at this year's Sheffield Doc/Fest is a real honour. I am looking forward to introducing this powerful and moving human story to audiences in the city that offers hope to the most vulnerable."
We'll be bringing you details of the rest of the programme when they are announced. For further information about Doc/Fest, visit the official site
