A screening of The Good Lie, directed by Philippe Falardeau, at the Dubai International Film Festival left many in the audience in tears on Saturday.
A film about new beginnings, humanity and the power of the human spirit, the emotional piece follows the story of the “lost boys” — a band of Sudanese orphans who became refugees after surviving a civil war and managed to forge a fresh start in America years later. As they arrive in America, Abital (Kuoth Wiel) is separated from her brothers and sent to Boston.
The film goes on general release in the UAE from Thursday,
Although the trailers and poster for the film do give the impression that Reese Witherspoon is the star, it’s a misconception that the film has a white protagonist who acts as the saviour to these refugees.
Instead, the film honours its subject matter: The struggles that the children in the crossfire of war face as their homes and families are taken away.
At the Q & A session after the screening, Arnold Oceng, who plays Mamere, said that when Witherspoon first came to be involved with the film she wanted to make sure that the film was not about her. This aspect resonates in the film as the first half hour is devoted to showing the effect of a more than two-decade-long civil war on the orphans.
“We are all connected through war. It affects us either directly or indirectly… it was very difficult for us to react to certain scenes that some of us had actually gone through,” Oceng said.
The story, although fictional, is inspired by true stories and has a sense of honesty and authenticity. Members of the cast were caught up in the conflict themselves, before fleeing their homeland. This included two of the three male leads, Ger Duany and Emmanuel Jal (who play Jeremiah and Paul respectively) and Wiel.
“Philippe was actually very sensitive with us; he knew how far to take us and where certain emotions need to be invoked. There were instances on set where we has to stop shooting because something was too [upsetting] but we made it through by keeping each other strong,” Wiel said at the screening.
Falardeau has beautifully captured the emotional scope of the refugees’ journey, from sadness to laughter. The film doesn’t leave the audience with a grim and saddening experience, but is enjoyable and uplifting as the story incorporates the refugee’s experiences in America. Mundane concepts were found very strange by the refugees. The joke of “why did the chicken cross the road?” made them burst into glorious laughter, causing the audience watching to follow suit.
“This is not a Sudanese story or an American story, I feel like it’s a story of humanity... we want [people] to realise that we are all human,” Wiel said.
“What you guys have seen today is still happening in South Sudan and only in different circumstances.”
The producers have created goodliefund.org, a donation website providing funds to Unicef, Refuge Point and The Lost Boys Center for Leadership Development to help refugees in South Sudan, she added. “So you can help these children and influence the story in a completely different way,” she added.
Emma Dourado is a contestant for Diff and Gulf News’ Young Journalist Award.
