PAL-C Partners with UPF to Promote Film “Prince Among Slaves”

From left to right: PAL-C Executive Director Taha Gaya, UPF/"Prince Among Slaves" Co-Producer Alex Kronomer, PAL-C National Director Mossadaq Chughtai, and PAL-C National Director and "Prince Among Slaves" underwriter Dr. Maqsood Chaudhry

Washington D.C., November 11, 2007 – The Pakistani American Leadership Center (PAL-C) partnered with Unity Production Foundations (UPF) to promote the film “Prince Among Slaves,” the 2007 Winner for Best Documentary at the 2007 American Black Film Festival.

PAL-C National Director Dr. Maqsood Chaudhry, is one of the underwriters of the film.

To view the trailer and learn more about the film, please click here.

About the Film

The Story

Some biographies help us understand the broad historical themes and issues of the period during which their subject lived. Others appeal to universal emotions of the human experience. And some simply entertain us with vivid characters and nearly novelistic events. Prince Among Slaves does all three. This documentary film tells the true story of a little known African American hero, an African prince who was sold into slavery in the American South in 1788. His name was Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori, and he remained enslaved for forty years, before ultimately regaining his freedom and returning to Africa.

The broad outline of Abdul Rahman’s biography reads like a fairytale: A young prince falls from a life of power and privilege into exile and enslavement in a strange land. There he endures unimaginable indignities, yet carves out a life, marries a woman enslaved like himself, and has children. Then, through improbable circumstances, including meeting President John Quincy Adams at the White House, he is granted his freedom and returns to his homeland, but not before he rescues his wife from enslavement and sees his royal status recognized in the very land that held him in bondage.

Understanding this period of American history remains important today. This documentary will create discussion not only on how race relations in this country have changed, but also on the issues of racism still facing America today. By highlighting this fundamental time, UPF seeks to create awareness about the lessons of American history, to encourage youth to be heroic, and to build stronger communities.

Team

This film is supported by a variety of key people and institutions, including Producer, Director, and Writer Andrea Kalin; Director of Re-enactments Bill Duke; lead outreach partner, Howard University; project consultant, Jennifer Lawson, General Manager of Howard University Television; and the Chairman of the Board of Scholars, Dr. Sulayman Nyang, Professor of African Studies at Howard University. Other scholars and on-air personalities include Kwame Anthony Appiah of Harvard University, the late Novelist Bebe Moore Campell and author Terry Alford. The Executive Producers and co-founders of UPF are Alex Kronemer, a writer and lecturer who recently served at the U.S. State Department Office of Human Rights and International Religious Freedom, and Michael Wolfe, a writer whose many works include the Emmy-nominated Nightline special on pilgrimage.

The Pakistani American Leadership Center (PAL-C) is a professional Pakistani-American advocacy organization with an office located on Capitol Hill. It launched the Congressional Pakistan Caucus in May 2004 and works to raise awareness about Pakistani-American interests in Washington policy circles. Our activities include facilitating the Congressional Pakistan Caucus, liaising Pakistani officials and the community with Members of Congress, and mobilizing all Pakistani-Americans at the grassroots level. If you wish to learn more about PAL-C, please visit our website www.pal-c.org or email us at info@pal-c.org.

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