October 31, 2003

Award-Winning Documentary Follows
"Lost Boys" from Sudan to America

Lost Boys of Sudan, a feature-length documentary that follows two Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America, will be previewed at the University of San Diego's Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Thursday, Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. as part of the IPJ Fall Film Series. The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are requested by Nov. 4.

Lost Boys of Sudan tells the story of Peter Dut and Santino Chuor, who were orphaned in the longest-running civil war in Africa. They walked hundreds of miles, surviving lion attacks and militia gunfire, to reach a refugee camp in Kenya, before beginning a new life in America.

Daniel Akech James, also one of the "lost boys" and now a USD student, will introduce the film. A panel discussion will follow with Megan Mylan, the film's director; Randa Hassan, lawyer and lead field worker for Doctors Without Borders in Sudan and Angola; Robert Montgomery, director of the International Rescue Committee - San Diego, who just returned from the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya where Sudanese refugees are selected for resettlement; and Joyce Neu, executive director of the peace institute, who has been involved with peace negotiations in Sudan.

There are signs that an end to the 20-year civil war finally may be possible. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell recently attended peace talks in Africa, something officials had said Powell would not do unless an agreement to end the conflict was imminent.

The film will have a national broadcast in the summer of next year as part of the PBS series, "POV." For more information about the film, please visit www.LostBoysFilm.com.