LOST BOYS THE JOHN BUL DAU STORY More than 27,000 boys were uprooted during the Second Sudanese Civil War... Government troops raided villages in southern , killing many of the inhabitants, and driving the rest from their homes. The boys made an epic journey across the borders to Ethiopia and – evading thirst, starvation, wild animals, insects, disease, and one of the most bloody wars of the 20th century.

These are the LOST BOYS. JOHN’S STORY

John Bul Dau is just 12 years old when civil war ravages his village. As mortar shells explode around him, John flees into the darkness — the first terrified moments of a journey that leads him thousands of miles into an exile that will last many years. John awakens the next morning, lost and certain that his entire family is dead. He continues his escape through scorching heat on foot, without food and water.

After being beaten by soldiers and nearly dying of dehydration and starvation, John arrives in a U.N. camp in Ethiopia along with 17,000 walking skeletons... Just when circumstances stabilize, an unexpected enemy emerges: Ethiopian soldiers brutally dispel the boys from Camp Pinyudu across the Gilo River, opening fire and turning the river red with the innocent blood of nearly 3,000 children. Through bombings and attacks by SLA soldiers, John makes a harrowing journey to Camp in Kenya.

But life at the refugee camp is mentally, if not physically, perilous. Police extort and abuse the Lost Boys, who wait for years, losing hope. Un- able to return home, unwelcome in Kenyan society, they are trapped – pawns in a game of international politics.

Until a glimmer of hope... The United States opens its doors to the refugees. Perhaps in this “land of opportunity” there is the chance to show the world what happened in Sudan.

With renewed determination, John works to qualify, and eventually finds his name on the list. Leaving behind his surrogate family of boys and everything he has known, John takes his first steps toward a new life... JOHN DAU TODAY “Hope is never lost.” - John Dau

While working 60 hours a week as a security guard, John completed his Associate’s Degree and started his BA in Policy Studies at . He was re-united with his sister and mother, brought them to Syracuse, and is now married with a daughter and son.

John speaks professionally throughout the United States and is President of the John Dau Foundation. In 2006, he was featured in the award-winning documentary, God Grew Tired of Us, and wrote his first book entitled God Grew Tired of Us: A Memoir, published by National Geographic in 2007.

John has received many prestigious awards, including National Geographic’s Emerging Explorers Award and was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader for 2008. He has started three 501(c)3 organizations. He is an advisor for two of these organizations, the Sudanese Lost Boys Foundation of New York and the American Care for Sudan Foundation, both of which operate with independent boards. His primary effort now is to build the John Dau Foundation into a finan- cially stable organization that supports the building and maintenance of clinics in . FROM THE DIRECTOR

There is a value to John’s story that goes beyond historical factuality. This is a coming of age story. It is the journey of a young boy whose identity is stripped from him. His ethical and moral values are tested. He endures circumstances, makes choices and faces consequences that most adults can hardly fathom. And somehow through all this, John grows up gracefully, keeping his sanity. In his book there are no traces of Post Traumatic Stress, bitterness or any need for revenge. What is his secret?

This story exemplifies one of the most extreme test cases for the human spirit. It is an homage to the powers of faith, hope and love. John is someone who is able to make sense of events that shattered his young life in every possible way. He is someone who keeps finding reasons to live, no matter the circumstances.

As we look to the future, it’s hard to imagine that the tragedy of the Lost Boys could happen again so soon, but it’s shockingly within the realm of possibility. In 2011, Sudan has a referendum to its current, temporary peace treaty that could spark a new outbreak of war between North and South Sudan.

John’s story must be told If we want to stop this catastrophe from happening again, in Sudan and other war-stricken countries around the world. HELMUT SCHLEPPI - DIRECTOR BRADY NASFELL – PRODUCER

Helmut has made documentaries on subjects like Romania’s Brady has produced both feature films for the independent Revolution, Israel and Palestine, and the First Gulf War. His market and television programming for NBC and Discovery documentary on the former Yugoslavia won the UNICEF Networks. He founded the production company Sodium En- award in Amsterdam. He has worked for networks like BBC, tertainment, producing features such as The Last Dispatch, ABC, MTV, CNN, REUTERS, AP and The Discovery Channel. which had the second highest per screen average in the coun- try for its opening weekend, and Breaking Dawn, an official In 1999, Helmut produced and directed A Foreign Affair selection at the Hollywood Film Festival that was distributed which was selected for the Sundance Film Festival, and was by Lionsgate. His award-winning short films have screened distributed in 89 countries around the world. Ebert and Ro- at over 50 film festivals. Nasfell has also produced and direct- eper gave it “two thumbs up”. ed promos for television that garnered him a Silver Promax Award. He is a member of the Producer’s Guild of America After producing the web series The Interior, Helmut filmed an and The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. on-line documentary series featuring projects for Food for the Hungry in Africa. These documentaries feature projects and needs in the East African region. CONTACT: Sodium Entertainment (818) 954-9330