National Outreach Campaign

“Remarkable! This film should be required viewing for all Americans.”
-Allison Benedik, Chicago Tribune

Lost Boys of Sudan is mobilizing action and support for refugees and the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. From Alaska to Alabama standing-room-only crowds fill public libraries, church meeting halls and high school auditoriums to watch the story of the Lost Boys and reflect as a group about the lives of refugees faraway and close to home. On Capitol Hill the film screened with the Congressional Refugee and Human Rights Caucuses as well as with the State Department's Refugee and Migration Bureau. Community screenings have resulted in thousands of volunteers for refugee and humanitarian organizations, more than a million dollars for scholarship programs, letters to elected officials and the less tangible, but equally powerful benefits of deepened understanding, opened hearts and a sense of solidarity. These events are possible through close collaboration with the “Lost Boys and Girls,” UNHCR, Amnesty International, STAND, teachers associations, national refugee resettlement agencies and countless other community organizations. Each day brings news of new collaborations and people moved to action. We are thrilled to be part of this movement and hope you'll join us.

Watch a Q&A from Grand Rapids

Impact

• $1,000,000+ RAISED FOR REFUGEE SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS
• THOUSANDS OF VOLUNTEER MENTORS RECRUITED
• LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGNS TO ELECTED OFFICIALS and MEDIA
• FUNDING AND POLITICAL ACTION FOR DARFUR CRISIS

Strategy

• 70-CITY THEATRICAL RELEASE
  Lost Boys of Sudan played theatrically in 70 cities. Across the country refugee and human rights organizations used opening-night to host fundraising and educational events. Literature distributed throughout the film’s run.


• NATIONAL PBS TELEVISION BROADCAST
  Millions of viewers tuned into the films broadcast on PBS/POV organizing house parties and teach-ins. Our website and an extensive POV site provided viewers clear ways to take meaningful action


• 2000 DONATED DVDs
  We donated 2000 copies of our Educators’ Edition DVD with discussion guides, lesson plans and community action kits to public libraries, teachers of English as a Second Language, high school and university student chapters of STAND and Amnesty International for free public screenings and continued educational use.


• MINI-GRANTS
  In addition to the donated DVD’s, public libraries and student groups with especially powerful ideas for community events, received mini-grants and the assistance of our Community Outreach Director to support their events.


• 20-CITY COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN
  We focused on 20 cities across the U.S. and in each community organized a series of free public screenings to raise awareness and financial support for refugees and Darfur with a wide-variety of partners including: Rotary Clubs, Immigrant Rights groups, Racial Justice organizations, Faith-based groups, Arts associations, and After-school programs. Ann Arbor, Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Fargo, Grand Rapids, Harrisburg, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Nashville, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Princeton, Richmond, San Jose, San Diego, Tampa.

Read More — Hear what people have to say about the film or to learn more about making media matter, read the article from The Independent.

Take Action — To learn what you can do, please visit our Take Action page for ideas on meaningful ways to get involved.

Screenings — Visit the See the Film page to see where our outreach campaign will take the film next, or get in touch with us about planning your own event.