 |
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August 2008, page 51 Muslim-American Activism MPAC Bestows Media Awards
MORE THAN 500 guests turned out for the Muslim Public Affairs Council Foundation’s 17th annual Media Awards banquet June 1 in the Disneyland Hotel, Anaheim. Each year, the foundation recognizes figures in the media who show courage and conscience in portraying Islam and its followers in a truthful light. This year’s recipients were Morgan Spurlock for producing and writing “Where In the World Is Osama bin Laden?”; David Guarascio and Moses Port, co-creators and producers of the TV series “Aliens in America”; and Omar Amanat, executive producer of “The Visitor” and “The Kite Runner.” In accepting his award, Spurlock said he wanted to find reasons why the powerful U.S. cannot track down Osama bin Laden. In his travels throughout the Islamic world, he talked to ordinary people and sought their perspectives on terrorism and hopes for the future. Port told the audience that from pre-production of the popular sitcom, “Aliens in America,” his staff has consulted with MPAC on its portrayal of Rajah, a visiting student from Pakistan trying to adjust to his Midwestern host family and high school pecking orders, prejudices and provocations. Amanat, who made a fortune as the founder and CEO of Tradescape Corporation, sold it after Sept. 9, 2001 so he could make feature films that cast Muslims as three-dimensional humans with the same moral codes and aspirations as people in the West. He co-founded Participant Productions, a $200 million feature film company whose mission is to make movies “that will change the world.” His latest project is “Darfur Now” directed by Theodore Braun, who accepted his award for Amanat. —Pat McDonnell Twair |
|||||
