KEAN HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTE TO PRESENT
SCREENING OF THE GOOD LIE STARRING REESE WITHERSPOON
Acclaimed Human Rights Activist John Prendergast to Attend Premiere
John Prendergast, Kean University's Human Rights Senior Fellow, will present a screening of The Good Lie on October 8 at 7 p.m. in the state-of-the-art STEM Auditorium, located in Kean's STEM Building. The premiere will be attended by Mr. Prendergast, an internationally acclaimed human rights activist, who appears in the film and has a longstanding relationship with the University.
The Good Lie, opening in limited release on October 3 and distributed domestically by Warner Brothers Pictures, tells the story of the so-called "Lost Boys." Orphaned by the brutal civil war in Sudan, which began in 1983, these young victims traveled as many as a thousand miles on foot in search of safety. Fifteen years later, a humanitarian effort would bring 3,600 lost boys, as well as girls, to America.
Mr. Prendergast, named Kean University's Anne Evans Estabrook Human Rights Senior Fellow in 2013, will be on campus working with students and faculty throughout the week. A tireless advocate for peace in Africa, Mr. Prendergast is the Founding Director of the Enough Project, an initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity affiliated with the Center for American Progress. He is the author or co-author of ten books, including Not On Our Watch with Don Cheadle, a New York Times bestseller and NAACP non-fiction book of the year, and The Enough Moment: Fighting to End Africa's Worst Human Rights Crimes.
In The Good Lie, Philippe Falardeau (writer and director of the Oscar®-nominated Foreign-Language film Monsieur Lazhar) brings the story of the survival and triumph of the "Lost Boys" to life. Academy Award® winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line) stars alongside Sudanese actors Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, and newcomer Kuoth Wiel, some of whom were also children of war.
Kean's screening of The Good Lie, held in the STEM Auditorium of the NJ STEM Building, will take place at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday, October 8. Guests are asked to arrive at 7 p.m. General admission is $12.00, and doors open at 6:30 p.m. VIP tickets, which include premier seating and a cocktail reception with Mr. Prendergast at Ursino Restaurant scheduled for 5:30 p.m., are $50.00.
Eighty percent of every dollar collected will go to the Enough Project's work for peace in Sudan and South Sudan, with the remaining twenty percent going back to the Human Rights Institute. Mr. Prendergast will participate in a brief Q & A session immediately following the screening.
Tickets may be purchased in person at the Kean Stage box office, located in Kean's Wilkins Theatre, by phone at 908-737-SHOW (7469). No children under 13 will be admitted.
