They say we study history so that we don’t repeat mistakes in the future. Often though, situations are too dire to wait to become the material of study in the annals of historical fact, and need to be exposed in the moment.

Such is so with Christopher Quinn’s “God Grew Tired of Us,” the winner of the best documentary competition at Sundance. Quinn’s film profiles three young men, John, Daniel and Panther, who escaped from a war-ridden Sudan more than 17 years ago, and chronicles their journeys, from fleeing through the deserts of Africa as children to the struggle of surviving as refugees in the United States as adults.

The film’s frankness of the individuals openly sharing the horrors, humors and hopes of their travels unyieldingly jerks the audience into not only a state of attention, but also willingness and even yearning to somehow, in some way, help the Sudanese people’s cause. While a peace treaty ostensibly ended the country’s civil war, thousands of people are reportedly being killed and displaced in the Sudanese province of Darfur.

Given that “God Grew Tired of Us” took home its highest possible honor, the cards are now on the table, the information is there and audiences just need to act on it.