OXFORD cinema-goers were the first to view Ewan McGregor’s next movie after its preview screening was gifted to city charity Refugee Resource.

At a black-tie event held at Lady Margaret Hall, Jericho screenwriter Simon Beaufoy showcased his latest project Salmon Fishing in the Yemen to an enthusiastic audience.

The Oscar-winning writer, whose acclaimed projects include Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours and The Full Monty, arranged for the charity to show the movie for the first time in the UK – ahead of its West End premiere in March.

After the screening, he held a question-and-answer session with the audience.

At the event on Sunday night, the charity’s director Amanda Webb-Johnson said: “We are absolutely delighted with the event. It is amazing to have the support of Simon and his generous offer to give us the first UK screening of the film.

“I have been struck by how many people have come who we have not had contact with before, which will definitely help the mentoring service.

“It feels like there is a lot of support for refugees and asylum-seekers in the city and, in difficult financial times, it is heartening that more people than we know support our work.”

The movie, directed by Lasse Hallström, tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a man from the Fisheries Ministry (McGregor) and a Yemeni sheikh (Amr Waked), mirroring the work of the charity which helps to bring different cultures closer together.

Mr Beaufoy said: “It is a good charity to raise money for.

“It is incredibly important to help people who are coming to a foreign environment with very little knowledge of where they are and what they are doing. It must be like landing on Mars.

“It is incredibly important to mentor and to give people some kind of help when they arrive.

“The film is a romantic comedy about a fisheries scientist and a sheik who tried to do the impossible and create a salmon run in the middle of Yemen’s desert and what they learn about each other and each other’s cultures.”

Ewan McGregor is currently starring in action thriller Haywire.