I am Slave   Starring: Wunmi Mosaku, Isaach De Bankolé and Lubna Azabal High Fliers Films RRP: £12.99 HFR0163 Certificate: 15 Available 22 August 2011

It is not surprising that the veneer of civilisation that we affect is thinner than most of us would like to think. Our minds balk at thought of child prostitution and slavery, these are things for less developed countries. Why then are there five thousand people, in London, who are kept against their will in a state of virtual slavery. As if to ram the reality home, the news today (12 September 2011) reports another twenty men who have been found kept as slave labour.

I am Slave (2012 - 1 hr, 17 min, 05 sec) is a docufilm, based on a true story. Directed by Gabriel Range from a script by Jeremy Brock, the film originally formed part of channel 4’s slavery week.

The story is based on the real experiences of Mende Nazer, a writer and human rights activist, although changes have been made for dramatic purposes, including a name change, from Mende to Malia. She was born in 1982, into the Nuba, a tribe in the Sudan. At the age of twelve her village was attacked by slavers and although many escaped to the surrounding mountains, Nazer was captured. Until the age of eighteen she was kept, initially in Khartoum, then in England, subject to both physical and sexual abuse.

It is a harrowing tale and a powerful piece of drama. The story is not told in a linear fashion, as the story jumps back and forth between Malia’s present and the events leading up to her being in London. The film is sparse with its dialogue, often relying on Wunmi Mosaku’s (Malia) ability to convey her distress with her facial expressions. Her first mistress is physically brutal; her second psychologically so, threatening Malia with the murder of her father should she be stupid enough to either escape, or even use the phone. Never giving up on his daughter Malia’s father leaves his village to search for her.

The film is well directed and the musical score by Harry Escott and Molly Nyman really adds to the pathos of the piece. It is difficult to comment on the contents of the final disc as only a screener was provided for review. Overall, the acting is excellent and Mosaku is aided by the acting skills of both Isaach De Bankolé and Lubna Azabal.

If you didn’t get a chance to see this when it was first transmitted, the low price of the DVD means it’s a good time to catch up with it now.

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Charles Packer