Accept the Call
Synopsis
A father seeks to understand why his son had fallen prey to a terrorist organization and desired martyrdom, as they journey to forgive and heal after breaking each other's hearts.
Director I Eunice Lau Editor I Yasu Inoue
Twenty-five years after Yusuf Abdurahman left Somalia as a refugee to begin his life anew in Minnesota — which has the largest population of Somalis in the United States — his worst fear is realized when his 19-year-old-son Zacharia is arrested in an FBI counterterrorism sting operation.
Through the eyes of an anguished father desperate to understand why his young son would leave his American life behind to attempt to join the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, Accept the Call vividly explores racism and prejudice against immigrants, the rise of targeted recruitment by radicalized groups, and the struggles of Muslim youth growing up in the US today. This intimate film captures the story of a father and son attempting to mend their relationship, after breaking each other’s hearts, showing how a parent’s worry for their children is a universal predisposition.
This, which premiered on PBS Independent Lens series on January 20, 2020, is co-produced with YouTube Impact Lab and ITVS (Independent Television Service).
Director’s statement
I was a young reporter when September 11 happened, and witnessed how it forever altered the world that I had grown up in. Atrocities were committed in the name of righteousness; militarization fueled not just the rise of phobia against Muslims, but the support for right-wing governments and the appeal of extreme ideology . Within a decade, whatever lessons and progress we had made since the end of the Great Wars were slowly being eroded. The world is once again, divided and deeply wounded.
Against this backdrop and 14 years after the fall of the Twin Towers, seven Somali American teenagers were arrested on terrorism charges as they attempted to leave the country to join ISIS. Beyond the headlines, what stood out to me was the fact that these youths grew up in a post-9/11 America that was hostile to the very fabric of their being as Muslims Americans. As I followed the story, I wondered how they have suffered and how the counter-terrorism policies have hurt them? And I wondered too, if that anger and hurt had turned them away - towards the false promise of a better world offered by ISIS?
Those questions led me to this story, because in some ways I see it as my redemption for failing in my duty as a journalist to stem the tide against the onslaught on our humanity. I left journalism in 2009 and spent three years incubating in New York University’s MFA film program, learning from esteemed story-tellers. Along the way, I directed and filmed a short documentary in Somalia, Through the Fire, which was nominated for the AMPAS student academy awards in 2013. Telling this story gave me the background I needed to understand the Somali diaspora and why refugees like Yusuf were forced to leave their homes.
Yusuf chats with his son Zacharia, who calls from prison
Rally for the young defendants outside the courthouse during the trial
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 how his son Zacharia was radicalized and the impact on his family when he was arrested. Through their stories, viewers will experience the systemic racism and prejudices youths like Zacharia endured, while grappling with the religious nuance and theological battles within the community that put them between a rock and a hard place.
One of the anecdotal stories that struck me most about Zacharia is related to me by his friend and former inmate Shaker Masri, whom he met shortly after being sentenced. Shaker recounted how he saw Zacharia making a Mother’s Day card in secret, because he had missed his mother terribly but was forbidden by the strictures of his ideology he had subscribed to then to celebrate such festivals. The image of a boy, barely an adult, expressing his love for his mother, but conflicted by the ideological battle for his soul, wrenched my heart. In telling the story of Yusuf and his son, I hope the microscopic lens on them will rise above the dissonance and evoke a visceral response in audiences of all political persuasions, and in so doing begin important dialogues.
We need to acknowledge the impact of the “War on Terror” on a generation of young Americans like Zacharia who grew up under the shadows of these punitive policies. At the same time, we need to realize how the first casualties of this conflict are often Muslims who do not subscribe to extreme ideology. In not acknowledging the influence of ultraconservative interpretation of the religion, or discerning between peaceful and progressive Muslims like Yusuf and the fundamentalists who carry out human rights abuses in the name of Islam, we have contributed to their vulnerability and marginalization.
We need to be inspired by Yusuf’s fortitude to carry out honest conversations. Only then, can we push back and challenge the false and racist narratives propagated by right-wing factions of society that fan the mills of Islamophobia and anti-liberal modernity rhetoric, and give our audiences an honest perspective on our global crises without prejudice.
Main Characters
Yusuf
Yusuf graduated from Somali National University with a degree in education and history just before the civil war broke out in the early 90s. The violence forced him to flee his hometown and he came to the U.S. as one of the first few Somali war refugee in 1992. He found work first at a turkey-packing factory in Minnesota, before working in early education. Yusuf has eight children, and has published a children’s book based on a Somali tale.
Zacharia
Zacharia (Zach) was born in Minneapolis in 1995. He is a history buff, political enthusiast, a loving son, older brother, and friend.
He was arrested in April 2015 in Minneapolis and charged with conspiring to provide material support to ISIS. Zacharia pled guilty in September 2015. On 14 November 2016, Zacharia was sentenced to 10 years in prison with 20 years of supervised release.
Zach spends most of his days in the prison chapel reading books ranging from subjects of religion to geography, to ethnic fiction. With the support of Solomon's Porch, a Minneapolis-based church group, Zach recently enrolled at Ohio University and looks forward to obtaining a Bachelor's degree in sociology. He is expected to be released in 2023.
Zach at 9, dreamt of being an astronaut
Zach, with his father, at his high school graduation
Press Accolades and Audience response
“One of my top picks for the Human Rights Watch Film Festival last summer... a nuanced character study... thought provoking.”
- Filmmaker Magazine
“Accept the Call” premiered at the 30th Human Rights International Film Festival at Lincoln Center, New York, 2019
“I am hoping someone from the family reads these posts. I loved this film and this family. The humanity is so poignantly expressed. What do we have in common is what needs to be focused on and not what separates us. This film does this seamlessly. My heart is warmed by this film. Yusuf Abdurahman is such a likable human being as is his other family members. I loved the poem his daughter recited at a gathering. Thank you all for making yourselves available to be filmed! I did not need convincing about the humanity of Muslims, and it saddens me that this is needed. When we open our minds and open our hearts.”
Eunice Lau
Director and Producer
As a descendant of immigrants displaced by conflict, Eunice is drawn to stories about the journey of migrants and the profundity of hyphenated identities. It’s this inheritance that makes her cognizant of injustice, and her storytelling personal. Her documentary Accept The Call, set in Minnesota’s Somali community explores the impact of injustice and intergenerational trauma. It aired on PBS Independent Lens after screening at acclaimed film festivals such as Human Rights Watch and Woodstock in New York City. With her training in narrative filmmaking, she seeks to bring a cinematic form to documentary films. A former journalist, Eunice’s works have appeared on Discovery Channel and Al Jazeera English. Her work is supported by the Jerome Foundation, Tribeca Film Institute, Woodstock Film Festival, ITVS, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Points North Institute, and YouTube Impact Lab. She has been featured in publications including The New York Times, Variety, and Filmmaker Magazine. She holds an MFA in Film from NYU.
Yasu Inoue
Film Editor
Inspired by the cinema of John Cassavetes and Akira Kurosawa, Yasu came to New York City to study filmmaking, and editing. He has since produced and edited over 50 features and series including “Accept the Call”, “A-Town Boyz”, “Newman”(Best documentary, 2016) and “Man from Reno” (Best Narrative Feature, LA Film Festival 2014). His clients include Netflix, HBO, CNN Films, Showtime and PBS. He is a key member of the Delphin Films team.