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Movie Time at the Chapter House
April 26 @ 5:30 PM
Hoping you’ll join us on Saturday, April 26, at 5:30 PM, for Movie Time at the Chapter House. The film? Another terrific docu-drama titled “Skeletons on the Sahara.”
It’s a miraculous story. In 1815, the Connecticut merchant ship “Commerce” ran aground off the West Coast of Africa. Captured by Arab nomads, Captain James Riley and his crew were sold into brutal slavery and marched across the Sahara Desert, where skin can boil, lips blacken, and men shrivel to walking skeletons.
Feeling responsible for the fate of his men, Riley staked his life on their well-being. His true story of miraculous survival takes documentary viewers inside the adventure with recreations that were shot on location and compelling interviews with descendants of Riley, his crew, and their captors.
The captain’s inspiring memoir, originally titled and published as An Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce (1817), was influential on a young Abraham Lincoln in his views on slavery.
Includes commentary from Dean King, author of the bestselling book of the same name. This History Channel production (1:40) is safe for all audiences (though there are some difficult scenes reenacting near-starvation).
Will you bring a snack? Something desert-y? Could be North African, Moroccan, or maybe something Arab. Get creative!