Little Ali
Feature film inspired by
Ali Akbar's moving autobiography "I make the World Laugh, but
The World Makes me Cry"
The extrairdinaryly moving, heroic story of a boy from the slums of Rawapindi, Pakistan who succeeded
From the tender age of six, Ali was forced to earn a living. forced to turn over to his household the few coins he earned with his sweat and tears.
First sheppering buffaloes for a mean spirited man who beat him for the slightest oversight,
THE ELDEST OF 10 CHILDREN IN A DIRT-POOR NEIGHBORHOOD IN RAWALPINI, PAKISTAN, ALI SUFFERED THE CRUELEST OF CHILDHOODS, VICTIMIZED BY A BRUTAL FATHER. .
HIS LOVING MOTHER TRIED TO PROTECT HIM, BUT SHE WAS ALSO AT THE MERCY OF HER BITERED, CRUEL MAN
ESCAPING AS SOON AS HE WAS ABLE TO OBTAIN A PASSPORT, TREKKING THROUGH ASIA, OVER SNOW-COVERED MOUNTAINS, REACHING GREECE WHERE AT THE AGE OF 16 BOARDED HIS FIRST PLANE ALI FLEW TO AMSTERDAM, TO REPORT TO A GREEK FLAG MERCHANT SHIP THAT TOOK HIM HALF WAY ACROSS THE WORLD, UNTIL HE FINALLY REACHED PARIS.
ONCE IN EUROPE HE SOUGHT ANY SORT OF WORK HE COULD GET, FINALLY SETTLING ON SELLING NEWSPAPERS. HE DID THAT FOR OVER 50 YEARS, BECOMING A CELEBRITY OF SORTS IN THE CHARMED CARTIER OF SAINT GERMAIN DES PRES WHERE HE MADE FRIENDS IN ALL CIRCLES, INCLUDING POLITICIANS, MOVIE STARS, ALL SEDUCED BY HIS UPBEAT, GENEROUS PERSONALITY. ALL THIS WHILE RAISING A FAMILY OF FIVE CHILDREN WITH A DISTANT COUSIN HE BROUGH TO FRANCE FROM PAKISTAN, AT THE AGE OF 23. HIS FIVE CHILDREN ATTENDED FRENCH PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES, BECOMING RESPECTED PROFESSIONALS.TODAY, AT THE AGE OF 73, HIS MODEST EFFORTS AND INSPIRING STORY WERE REWARDED ONE OF THE HIGHEST HONORS IN FRANCE, BESTOWED BY PRESIDENT FRANCOIS MACRON.
FILM REFERENCES
