"Lost Boys" Tale Told In "The Good Lie"

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - They were known simply as "The Lost Boys."

Orphaned by a brutal civil war in Sudan that began in 1983, they traveled as many as a thousand miles on foot in search of safety. Fifteen years later, a humanitarian effort would bring thousand of "lost" boys and girls to America. A place they didn't know or understand.

"It was the largest resettlement to the U.S. Thirty-six-hundred Sudanese came over to the US. before 911, just after it the program got shut down," said screenwriter Margaret Nagle.

It was a story so compelling Nagle would not give up. She spent 10 years trying to sell it to Hollywood. To say it was a labor of love for her is a strong understatement.

"It does feel like I'm giving birth and it feels like my other child. It's funny there were moments in the process of getting it made that felt as though they were criticizing my child. I was like it is not ugly, it's beautiful. I was very protective," said Nagle

Actor Arnold Oceng has a Sudanese father but was raised by his mother in England. He did not know about the story of The Lost Boys before reading Nagle's script.

"I was shamed, I didn't know, I wasn't aware," said Oceng. "When my Dad passed away I didn't know about the Sudanese side, so being part of this film was an emotional journey for all of us, but that's why I'm so proud to be apart of this film."

The film is a fictionalized story based on events that actually happened to many of The Lost Boys.

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In the movie, three are sent to Kansas, a modern day world completely foreign to them and they had to learn how to navigate the 20th Century.

"The film is about new beginnings, people laugh at these moments with the The Lost Boys. It is the little things we take for granted that are so normal for us. To them, it's a new world," said Nagle.

Actress Nyakouth Weil plays a sister of one of The Lost Boys who was separated from her family.

"For me, it's a great feeling to see how everyone's reaction to it. So far its been positive feedback. A lot of people relate to this story. I think what Margaret wanted to do is to show that this story is not just an American story or Sudanese story, it's a human story," said Weil

"The Good Lie" opens in theaters Friday.

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