when is it being released?

November 17, 2006- “Paging Oprah: Lost Boys of Sudan Need You” by Roger Friedman

Paging Oprah: Lost Boys of Sudan Need You

It seems hard to believe but “God Grew Tired of Us,” a hugely important and well-made film about the Lost Boys of the Sudan, has been overlooked by the Academy Awards documentary committee. Yesterday’s shortlist of 15 films mysteriously excluded Christopher Quinn’s work. This is nothing short of tragic.

How can this be? “God Grew Tired of Us” won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Documentary. And it won another award at the Deauville Film Festival. Anyone who sees this film ­ which will be released in January ­ is moved to the point of tears and action.

At Sundance, one woman took out her checkbook and wrote a check for $25,000 to help the Sudanese medical efforts. The big hope now is that Oprah Winfrey will be wise enough to feature this film for a full hour when it’s released.

By coincidence, I met with John Dau, one of the Lost Boys, just the other day when he came to New York City from his new home outside of Syracuse.

Dau is 32 now and has lived in upstate New York since arriving in the U.S. in 2001. Think of this: prior to his arrival, he spent nearly 20 years as refugee. That’s his entire lifetime. This week, though, John and his wife, who was a “lost girl” of the Sudan, celebrated the birth of their first child. It’s a miracle.

Dau and the other main characters in the movie ­ Daniel Abul Pach and "Panther" Bior ­ met the filmmakers in their Kenyan refugee camp. It was the day they learned whether or not they’d go to the U.S. They’d all spent about 15 years in the camp, after walking across the desert for about five years.

All of this started when the Sudan erupted into civil war in 1987. When the "Lost Boys" first began their trek, there where 27,000 of them. By the time they arrived in Kenya, only 12,000 had survived the ordeal.

There’s a lot more to say about John, Daniel and Panther. For one thing, when I spoke to John the other day, he’d never of the Oscars. So there. He’s also not completely clear about Nicole Kidman, who narrates the film. John works as a security guard for a Syracuse hospital and goes to school at the same time.

But his real interest is in building a medical facility for his Sudanese village. He recently returned there for his first visit in 19 years and saw his father, also for the first time in two decades.

A charitable foundation has been set up for him to accept funds for his project at www.ACSudanFoundation.org. They need money desperately. Maybe instead of setting up their own African charities with individual agendas, celebrities could push some of their money in this direction instead.