In partnership with American University and The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, USIP is sponsoring the Washington, D.C. premiere of "Rebuilding Hope" a film following three of Sudan's "Lost Boys" on a journey back home to find surviving family members, and rediscover and contribute to their homeland. The film also sheds light on what the future holds for southern Sudan in its precarious struggle for peace, development and stability.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring the film's director, Jen Marlowe, and one of central characters in the film.

Praise for "Rebuilding Hope"

"'Rebuilding Hope' is a riveting and moving portrait... Jen Marlowe provides an essential human window into the fragility of Sudan's southern peace..."
Leslie Lefkow, Senior Researcher, Human Rights Watch

"'Rebuilding Hope' is a wonderful tribute to their spirit and perseverance..."
Dave Eggers, author of "What is the What"

"'Rebuilding Hope'... is a deeply moving study in loss and suffering, in courage, in wisdom about the meaning of Life as Humans that seems as old as the continent of Africa."
Alice Walker, author of "The Color Purple"

Film Synopsis

As small children, Gabriel Bol Deng, Koor Garang and Garang Mayuol fled their villages in South Sudan due to civil war. They became a part of a group of thousands of other boys with a similar story, nicknamed “The Lost Boys” upon resettlement in the USA in 2001.

In May 2007, Gabriel Bol, Koor and Garang, now in their twenties, embarked on a journey back to Sudan to discover whether their homes and families had survived, what the current situation is in South Sudan, and how they can help their community rebuild after devastating civil war.

Along the way, the young men assessed the hopes, dreams and fears of the southern Sudanese people nearly three years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. They explored the connections between the conflict in South Sudan to the conflict in Darfur, probing the larger questions of identity and ethnicity in Sudan.

"Rebuilding Hope" is a powerful record of Gabriel Bol, Koor and Garang’s quest to find surviving family members, and rediscover and contribute to their homeland; it also sheds light on what the future holds for South Sudan in its precarious struggle for peace, development and stability.

All proceeds from the film will go to support the health care and education projects initiated by the three young men the film features.