In the new documentary film Accept the Call from Eunice Lau, a father seeks to understand why his son is accused of terrorism. Accept the Call will world premiere at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York.
Twenty-five years after leaving Somalia as a refugee to begin his life anew in Minnesota, Yusuf Abdurahman’s nineteen-year-old-son Zacharia is arrested in an FBI anti-terrorism sting operation. Accept the Call explores the struggles of Muslim youths growing up in contemporary America through the eyes of a father striving to understand why his son tried to leave home to join a terrorist organization in a foreign country, and their journey to find reconciliation after breaking each other’s hearts.
“Accept the Call is a father-and-son story that takes an unconventional path in approaching the crises of America’s systemic and institutional racism, the rise of radicalization, and ideological warfare that besiege us today. For three years, I followed the journey Yusuf Abdurahman took to understand what happened to his son Zacharia, and how the arrest affected him and his family. Through Yusuf, viewers will understand not just the nuances in the religion, but also the complexity of grappling with the theological battles within the community that put him between a rock and a hard place. Through Zacharia, viewers will experience the systemic racism and prejudices he endured growing up.” – Eunice Lau, Director/Producer
Given her background as a former broadcast journalist, Eunice Lau has a propensity toward telling stories concerning social justice. Her film “Through the Fire” was nominated for best short documentary at AMPAS Student Academy in 2013. She won the Spike Lee Fellowship for her feature documentary “A-Town Boyz” while pursuing her MFA in film directing at New York University. With her training in narrative filmmaking, she seeks to bring a cinematic form to documentary films. As a Singaporean filmmaker based in New York City, Eunice’s work is supported by Chicken & Egg Pictures, Tribeca Film Institute and ITVS. “Accept the Call” is a continuum of her exploration on the definition of the American hyphenated identity and capturing the journey of the immigrant.