The Guardian launches Sea Prayer, a new virtual reality experience

The Guardian is pleased to announce the launch of Sea Prayer, the publication’s latest virtual reality (VR) project, written by Khaled Hosseini and narrated by BAFTA Award winning actor Adeel Akhtar.

To commemorate the second anniversary of the tragic death of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy who drowned whilst attempting to reach Greece in 2015, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and acclaimed author Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner; A Thousand Splendid Suns; And the Mountains Echoed) has written Sea Prayer, an imagined letter in the form of a monologue, from a Syrian father to his son lying asleep on his lap, on the eve of making the sea crossing to Europe to seek refuge and safety.

Sea Prayer is the first narrative animated virtual reality film created using Tilt Brush, a tool for painting in a 3D space with virtual reality. Using this tool, the Guardian’s in-house VR team, in collaboration with acclaimed VR artist Liz Edwards and post production studio SoWhen?, have brought Hosseini’s sensitive imagining of this letter to life.

READ MORE

Iranian-Born Composer Sahba Aminikia Bridges Worlds in Extreme Times

As a western-trained classical musician who grew up in a musical household filled with traditional Persian music, I have a special place in my heart for any artist who draws upon their own heritage while creating a relevant voice in our increasingly complex and plural world. Iranian-born composer Sahba Aminikia is just that kind of artist.

In the middle of rehearsals for the 10 works that Aminikia composed, arranged and presented at last month’s annual Kronos Festival, airports across the country were rocked by chaos and protests in response to President Trump’s travel ban against refugees and visa- and green card-holders from seven Muslim-majority countries — including Aminikia’s own home country of Iran. Aminikia, a refugee himself, came to the United States in 2006 to study music, a pursuit inconceivable in Iran given his Baha’i faith. (One of Iran’s religious minority groups, the Baha’i face serious discrimination and are deprived of basic human rights, including the right to education.).

more

#press

Iranian-Born Composer Sahba Aminikia Bridges Worlds in Extreme Times

As a western-trained classical musician who grew up in a musical household filled with traditional Persian music, I have a special place in my heart for any artist who draws upon their own heritage while creating a relevant voice in our increasingly complex and plural world. Iranian-born composer Sahba Aminikia is just that kind of artist.

In the middle of rehearsals for the 10 works that Aminikia composed, arranged and presented at last month's annual Kronos Festival, airports across the country were rocked by chaos and protests in response to President Trump's travel ban against refugees and visa- and green card-holders from seven Muslim-majority countries -- including Aminikia's own home country of Iran.  Aminikia, a refugee himself, came to the United States in 2006 to study music, a pursuit inconceivable in Iran given his Baha’i faith. (One of Iran’s religious minority groups, the Baha’i face serious discrimination and are deprived of basic human rights, including the right to education.)

READ MORE