Children of Men is a 2006 dystopian action thriller film directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuarón. The screenplay, based on P. D. James' 1992 novel The Children of Men, was credited to five writers, with Clive Owen making additional, uncredited contributions. The film is set in 2027, when two decades of human infertility have left human civilisation on the brink of collapse. Asylum seekers seek sanctuary in the United Kingdom, where they are subjected to detention, deportation and execution by the government.