[Received this press release from The Music Hall in Portsmouth regarding an upcoming film screening.]
Music Hall May Wildcard Movie: God Grew Tired of Us
Post-film discussion with Activists
Thursday May 24, 7:30 p.m.
(Portsmouth, NH) - The latest installment in The Music Hall’s one night only Wildcard Movie series, God Grew Tired of Us, tells the remarkable story of the Lost Boys of Sudan. In 1987, the civil war in Sudan forced 25,000 young boys between the ages of three and 13 from their homes and onto a five-year trek that ultimately led the survivors to the United Nations Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. Most of the survivors of this violent period were young boys who were away tending herds when their families were attacked, or escaped into nearby jungles. Girls were raped and taken as slaves to the north so relatively few made it to the refugee camps
Nicknamed the Lost Boys after the characters in J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, they formed a tight community in the camp. The epic journey made them some of the most badly war traumatized children ever examined. In 2001, 3800 of the boys, now grown into men, were selected to be relocated to the United States, where they were given a new lease on life. Writer-director Christopher Quinn closely follows three boys from the group - John Bul Dau, Daniel Abol Pach and Panther Blor - as they make a go of it in a whole new world.
According to Quinn, “I wanted to make sure that this was more than a ‘fish out of water’ story... I knew there was much more to be said. This story was about coming into a new world and, despite the fact the it was daunting and crazy and upside down, I was thinking that once they got their footing, they would turn their attentions back to helping their friends and family in Africa - which is exactly what happened.”
Narrated by Nicole Kidman, and with Brad Pitt serving as one of the executive producers, God Grew Tired of Us is a powerful, compelling, important documentary. It won the "Grand Jury Prize: Documentary" and the "Audience Award" in the "Independent Film Competition: Documentary" category at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
Post-Film Discussion
Following the film at The Music Hall on May 24th there will be a film discussion featuring Program Manager Amy Marchildon with the Interfaith Refugee Resettlement Program of Lutheran Social Services, and Becky Dill, co-founder of GenocideAware in the Newburyport, MA-area. Marchildon’s resettlement efforts include providing education and training to the New Hampshire community about the needs of refugees and strategies for helping them achieve independence. GenocideAware is a member of the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur and the Genocide Intervention Network; and raises funds for humanitarian efforts in the Darfur region.
Our Film Sponsors
BayRing Communications; Smuttynose Brewing Company
About purchasing WildCard Movie tickets
Tickets are $8 and are on sale now at The Music Hall box office, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on the phone at 603.436.2400, or online at www.themusichall.org
About Extraordinary Cinema
Great films. Enormous screen. Unrivaled ambiance. Knowledgeable Curator. Post-film discussions. An experience unlike anything else on the Seacoast. Featuring a new title every week between September and May; SummerFilm; the monthly one-night-only Wildcard Movies; and the celebrated Telluride-by-the-Sea each fall.
