Chicago Tribune write-up

From Robert K. Elder's film column...

A lot of people make documentaries because they want to break into filmmaking. For friends Jason Mojica, Ryan Faith and Jim Milak, all 34, it was different.

"We decided to be filmmakers because we wanted to be humanitarians," says Chicago-native Milak. The friends' first documentary, "Christmas in Darfur," just hit the Internet and will become part of their awareness campaign.

"The film is about three Americans who have no idea what's going on in Darfur and decided to go and find out for themselves," said Milak. "We started a non-profit, bought some cameras and plane tickets and weaseled our way into the refugee camps in Chad on the Sudan border. We had no experience in either filmmaking or humanitarian work."

He continued: "The intention is not to come up with answers or advocate for a particular policy. Eventually the U.S. is going to decide to do something, or not, and the policy will depend in part on the level of awareness and investment of the people. Hopefully, we can play some small role in that."

For more information, visit christmasindarfur.org.