Welcome to Independent Lens.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of
PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight on Independent Lens,
we bring you the documentary film "Accept the Call."
Imagine being forced from your war-torn home
and fleeing your native land for the greener pastures of America.
Then to have your son try to leave the U.S.
twenty years later at the tender age of nineteen
to join a terrorist organization.
Such is the story of Yusef Abdurahman and his son Zacharia.
The film follows the struggles of Yusef as he tries
to find answers as to why and how his son became radicalized
and ended up imprisoned.
"Accept the Call" explores the complex journey
facing Muslim American youths growing up in post 911 America.
And how it is not uncommon for this journey
to cause a rift between father and son.
The film is directed by Eunice Lau
who has a penchant for telling stories of social justice.
Lau brings a broadcast journalism background
to her documentary style
but also has experience in narrative filmmaking
which she hopes brings a more cinematic style
to her documentaries.
While researching the project,
one of the stories that stayed with Lau
was one that Zacharia's cellmate told.
He saw Zacharia secretly making a Mother's Day card
because he missed his Mom so much.
But celebrating Mother's Day is forbidden in his chosen ideology
accentuating the ideological battle for Zacharia's soul.
"Accept the Call" starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.