Prince Among Slaves--Film Screening

[Fenix]

When:
02/02/2008 at 06:00 pm

Where:
University of Houston Cullen Performance Hall
Houston Texas, 77004
United States

Email Contact:
imhotep06@mochasuite.com

[JemChi]

They showed this in Detroit a few months back. I heard it was a really good film..Peace

[MillionsMoreMovement]

View Trailer
http://www.pbs.org/previews/princeamongslaves/
Part of PBS' black history month programming
PRINCE AMONG SLAVES, the inspiring true story of an African prince who survived 40 years of enslavement in America before finally regaining his freedom, airs Monday, February 4, 2008, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS. The documentary, part of PBS' tribute to Black History Month, is a presentation of the National Black Programming Consortium.
Winner of the Best Documentary at the 2007 American Black Film Festival, PRINCE AMONG SLAVES tells the compelling story of Abdul Rahman, an African Muslim prince, through feature-film styled re-enactments directed by Andrea Kalin and Emmy-Award-winner Bill Duke; contemporary artworks, archival letters and diaries; and on-camera interviews with distinguished scholars and experts. Narrated by actor and hip-hop artist Mos Def, PRINCE AMONG SLAVES is based on Dr. Terry Alford's biography of the same name.


Abdul Rahman was captured in 1788 and sold into slavery in the American South. He endured the horrific Middle Passage and ended up the "property" of a poor and nearly illiterate planter from Natchez, Mississippi, named Thomas Foster. Rahman remained enslaved for 40 years before finally regaining his freedom under dramatic circumstances, becoming one of the most famous men of his day. He returned to Africa, his royal status acknowledged. PRINCE AMONG SLAVES ends with a family reunion of Rahman's African and American descendents in Natchez, Mississippi.


"Abdul Rahman survived the harsh ordeals of slavery through his love of family and his deep abiding faith," says co-executive producer Michael Wolfe." The film depicts a universal story of perseverance and hope. Abdul endured unimaginable indignities and faced immeasurable odds, yet managed to survive his long fall from royalty with character and integrity intact."


"I was immediately attracted to this story because of its powerful message," re-enactment director and supervisory producer Bill Duke says. "Too many people continue to be enslaved by poverty, drugs and bad decisions. But like Abdul Rahman, they can come out of it and regain their dignity and respect."


The film contains insight from a distinguished and diverse group of experts such as Terry Alford, whose historical biography inspired the film; best-selling journalist and popular historian Adam Hochschild; K. Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy at Princeton University; the late novelist Bebe Moore Campbell; Sylviane A. Diouf, renowned scholar and author; Michael Gomez, professor of history at NYU; historian David S. Dreyer; Artemus Gaye, a descendant of Abdul Rahman; and Hamza Yusuf Hanson and Zaid Shakir, Islamic scholars at the Zaytuna Institute.