A series of screenings of “God Grew Tired of Us,” an award-winning documentary that explores the relocation of a trio of African refugees, will begin tonight to highlight humanitarian issues.
The screenings are being provided by Harvest of Hope, an annual fundraiser that supports relief in Africa. This year’s HOH, founded by the Rocky Mountain region of Church World Service, will feature one of the men from the documentary, John Bul Dau. The fundraiser will be in October.
Dau and two other men are followed from a refugee camp in Africa to their resettlement on the East Coast. The three Sudanese were part of thousands who wandered the sub-Saharan desert fleeing civil war. These orphaned “Lost Boys” finally reached a United Nations refugee camp in Kenya. In 2006 the film won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
“It’s just a powerful story about the plight and really the triumphs of the Lost Boys,”said Kathryn Roy, founder and chair of Harvest of Hope.
The film and Dau are a great addition because they directly highlight the service that groups like CWS do abroad and in the United States, Roy said.
Funds from the October event will be split, with 75 percent of it going abroad to support displaced people. The remaining quarter will benefit local groups It Takes a Village and Ecumenical Refugee and Immigration Services.
The Harvest of Hope and the screenings leading to it are about raising awareness not only about the plight of some Africans but also to learn more about a culture, Roy said.
“It is a real celebration of Africa,” she said. “I think it’s wrong to think we have to be helpers. There’s so much we can get from their culture.”
Staff writer Sara Crocker can be reached at 303-954-1661 or at scrocker@denverpost.com
See “God Grew Tired of Us”
Where: Starz Theatre, 900 Auraria Parkway
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
How much: Adults: $10, Students/Seniors: $5
Additional screenings will be held on Aug. 22 at Park Hill United Methodist Church, 5209 Montview Blvd., and August 23 at Temple Emanuel, 51 Grape St.
Film times and costs are the same.
Attend Harvest of Hope
Where: Donald R. Seawell Grand Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts
When: Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 11
How much: $100 for individual seats and tables for 10 start at $1,000.
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