Michael Wolfe and Alex Kronemer - Co-Founders of UPF
Michael Wolfe is co-founder of Unity Productions Foundation
and Co-Executive Producer for UPF Films. For 15 years, Wolfe was publisher of
Tombouctou Books, a small press that published poetry and avant garde prose.
Wolfe's first books on Islam were The Hadj, a first-person travel
account, and One Thousand Roads to Mecca, an anthology of 10 centuries
of travelers’ writing. After September 11th, he edited Taking Back
Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith which won a 2003 Wilbur Award.
In 1997, Wolfe hosted a televised account of the Hajj from Mecca for Nightline.
The program was nominated for Peabody, Emmy, George Polk, and National Press
Club Awards. In 2003, Wolfe worked with CNN-International reporter Zain Verjee
to produce a documentary on the Hajj. Michael is all the co-director of UPF’s Hollywood
engagement program, called MOST – Muslims on Screen and Television, which works
with writers and producers to develop more true-to-life characters and
storylines of Muslims on television and in films.
Alex Kronemer is co-founder of Unity Productions Foundation
and Co-Executive Producer for UPF Films.
Alex is a frequent writer and lecturer on religious diversity, Islamic
awareness and cross-cultural communication.
He has a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies from Harvard University.
Alex has published essays in numerous newspapers and journals, including the Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post and The Huffington Post. He’s lectured to the National Council on
U.S.-Arab Relations, Harvard, Nike, Aetna, and Disney and has appeared as a CNN
commentator on several occasions, including during CNN’s historic live coverage
of the Hajj in 1998. In 2000, Alex
served a one-year appointment at the Bureau of Human Rights in the U.S. State
Department focusing on U.S. foreign policy and Islam.
In 2002, Wolfe & Kronemer co-created, co-produced, and
co-executive edited the two-hour television documentary Muhammad: Legacy of
a Prophet which aired on PBS and on National Geographical International. With
UPF, Wolfe and Kronemer have produced numerous other documentaries including: Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of
Islamic Spain, A Prince Among Slaves: The True Story of An African Prince
Enslaved in the American South, Allah Made Me Funny: The Official Muslim Comedy
Tour, Talking through Walls: How the Struggle to Build a Mosque United a
Community, On a Wing and a Prayer: An American Muslim Learns to Fly and Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really
Think.
Mission and Vision
Our mission is to build a respected media foundation, creating high-quality films for worldwide broadcast and long-term educational campaigns that increase understanding and dialogue among the world’s spiritual and cultural traditions.
Our vision is to be a catalyst for ending the "Clash of Civilizations."
Part of that vision is a future where Islam and Muslims are understood in a wider, contemporary social context and Muslims are part of the modern social fabric.
Background
Nothing shapes public opinion or stimulates national dialogue more powerfully than the media. It is the primary agent for spreading information and formulating the images by which people come to know and understand the world. Unity Productions Foundation (UPF) is a non-profit educational foundation. We work through the media to produce films and documentaries that serve the causes of peace and understanding. UPF produces high-quality films intended to excite and entertain large national audiences and become the centerpieces for well designed educational outreach programs in classrooms, museums, community organizations, and public institutions. Our current projects are focused on creating greater understanding about Muslims and Islam. Today one in five people on earth are Muslim, and yet much of what is known about Islam comes mainly from the headlines. What is the history of this faith? Why does it continue to exert an influence over one-fifth of the world's population? How does Islam fit within a wider societal context? Comprehending how Islamic values have been expressed in past cultures and in Muslims' lives today is of central importance to the cause of peace and understanding.
Strategic Plan
To build upon the momentum gained by successfully broadcasting a major documentary, UPF officers have been working with Myrna Associates (www.myrna.com) to improve our strategic planning and our infrastructure. Myrna Associates is one of American business’s premiere strategic planners; its client list reads like a businessmen’s ‘Who’s Who’. We are fortunate to be working directly with John Myrna, the company’s founder. This work has resulted in a more streamlined organization with well-defined limits and monthly, annual, and five-year goals.