The showing of a film about the refugee crisis has resulted in nearly £800 being raised for a UN refugee programme.

The showing, Vanessa Redgrave’s debut film Sea Sorrow, was organised by the Wandsworth European Cultural Network (WECN) to raise funds for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).  

Vanessa focuses on the present and past history of refugees in Europe.

See related: Vanessa Redgrave's directorial debut Sea Sorrow about the refugee crisis comes to Battersea Arts Centre

Councillor Candida Jones, a member of WECN, said: "I am very grateful to Vanessa Redgrave for agreeing to show her film, Sea Sorrow, at Battersea Arts Centre and to Battersea Arts Centre for being so supportive of the project.

"Thanks to all who came, we raised £799.58 for the UNHCR and £173.38 for CARAS, a Tooting-based community outreach charity which supports people of refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds who live in South-West London.

"The current refugee crisis cannot be solved by donations, however.

"According to the UN there were 65.3m refugees globally at the end of 2015 – equivalent to one in every 113 people on the planet.”

Cllr Jones asks that Governments "step up" to solve this crisis.

She added: "Despite the UK government’s pledge to take 20,000 Syrian refugees and 3,000 unaccompanied children by 2020, just 1 Syrian refugee family has been resettled in Wandsworth.

"It is time for Wandsworth Council to show leadership on this issue, as neighbouring councils have, and assist the UK government in meeting its humanitarian obligations."