Watch: Khaled Hosseini's short film Sea Prayer is a touching virtual reality tribute to Alan Kurdi

In order to commemorate the second anniversary of the tragic death of Alan Kurdi — the little three-year-old boy who drowned and whose body was found washed up on a shore in Turkey after the boat that was carrying him and his family, from Syria to the Greek island of Kos, capsized in 2015 —  award winning novelist and UNHCR Goodwill ambassador Khaled Hosseini, wrote a fictional letter called Sea Prayer in collaboration with The Guardian.

It has been narrated in the form of a monologue, which has been made into a virtual reality (VR) short film.

The film sees a deluge of illustrations, created using the Tilt Brush (a tool used for painting in a 3D space combining it with VR). The movie is about a father, narrating the letter he has written to his son Marwan, on the eve of the day that the family is supposed to set sail into the sea to cross over to Europe, in order to seek safety and refuge (much like the devastating story of the little Alan Kurdi).

The narrative voice for Sea Prayer is provided by the BAFTA Award winning Adeel Akhtar , and hits the deepest chords of a viewer’s heart.

The movie starts off with a peaceful panaroma, as Marwan’s father recalls earlier days when there was goodwill, harmony and beauty in his hometown called Homs (the painting of which is being drawn onto our displays all the while as the narration soldiers on) while him and his brothers lived with their mother (Marwan’s grand mother).

The father talks about the feeling of brotherhood and the sense of camaraderie that could be felt at the time, and the music at that point in the narrative fits the scenes being penciled onto our screens like a glove.

Adeel Akhtar takes on the role of the father upon who the narrative is centered, as our monitor’s fill up with stormy visuals and a thunderous background score to match. The pivot point of the short film has the portrait of a father coming to life on our screen as he holds his son Marwan in his lap, while the sounds and sensations of war can be heard and felt throughout, giving a viewer chills.

The film takes a poetic dip into the devastation that is left behind due to wars, as the father wishes with all his heart that his son had been alive at the time that Homs was untouched by havoc and wreckage, hoping that Marwan remembered with clarity the moments when him and his father strolled along the streets of his hometown during happier times.

Sea Prayer is reportedly the first virtual reality animated narrative that has been produced using the Tilt Brush. Critically acclaimed VR maestro Liz Edwards has worked in collaboration with The Guardian’s own virtual reality team and SoWhen? (a post-production studio) to create the effects for this heart wrenching film that perfectly encapsulates the pain and sorrow of the Syrian war, especially through a parent’s lens.

Hosseini’s words and vision are brought to life by the fabulous yet real and raw illustrations of Liz Edwards and the poignant voice of Akhtar. The touching background score has been composed by Sahba Aminika (Iranian-American composer of contemporary classical music) and is performed by David Coulter (regarded as an accomplished saw player) along with Kronos Quartet (an award winning string quartet),

Watch Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini below