Popular American actor Dennis Haysbert will be starring in “The Black Moses,” a film about the life and times of Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, The Bahamas’ first prime minister.
Sir Lynden, regarded as the “Father of the Nation” in The Bahamas, led the country to independence in 1973 and served as prime minister from 1969 to 1992.
He was leader of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) from 1965 to 1997 when he resigned from public life.
He died in 2000.
The film is set to debut this fall.
“The Black Moses” will feature commentary from Pindling’s widow Dame Marguerite Pindling; American minister and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor Andrew Young; Sir Sidney Poitier; former South African President Thabo Mbeki (for Nelson Mandela); former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; former Jamaican Prime Minister, PJ Patterson; musician Wyclef Jean and many other international luminaries.
According to the movie’s IMDB.com page, the film’s director Travolta Cooper wrote, “Was L.O. Pindling, first black prime minister of The Bahamas, one of history’s greatest national liberators, or was he one of history’s greatest national drug dealers?”
“The Black Moses takes a looks at the popular folk ‘Moses mythology as it was manifested through the life and times of Sir Lynden Pindling. It follows LO Pindling as he sets on a course to bring about social, political, and economic revolution to the British Bahama Islands,” he said.
Dennis Haysbert has been known to spend time in The Bahamas, and was honoured at the 2011 FLIFF on Location: Grand Bahama Island film festival offshoot of Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival with a Career Achievement Award.
He has appeared in films such as Waiting to Exhale, and Love & Basketball, and on television, he has played the president of the United States on ‘24’ and now appears as Jonas Blaine in the CBS series, The Unit.
In addition, he is the easily-recognisable television spokesman for Allstate Insurance.
A trailer for the film is also out and can be viewed on the internet.