Help Us Finish This Independent Philadelphia-Based Documentary!

I CITE AS WITNESS THE TIME: The Story of Karen and Omar Askia Ali (documentary, 2026)

When Karen fell in love with Omar, he was serving a life sentence at Pennsylvania’s most violent prison — for a crime he did not commit. Over the following three decades, the couple built a powerful collaboration across prison walls, founding a path-breaking prison boxing program while fighting relentlessly for Omar’s freedom.

Hello! We’re Juliette Rando and Julie Flandreau. For the last three years, we’ve been creating an independent documentary film about an extraordinary couple, Karen Ali and Omar Askia Ali - and we are so close to finishing. We can’t wait for the day we are able to screen it for Ms. Karen and fulfill her wish to bring this story to the “court of public opinion.” We need your help to make this wish a reality.

Guided by Ms. Karen, the film traces the five decades of Omar’s incarceration, their unceasing struggle for his freedom, and the couple’s joint organizing efforts to improve the lives of their communities. It is a story of struggle and loss. A story of resilience born out of profound love.

“Ms. Karen Ali and Omar’s story is a love story. It’s a story of love transcending prison walls, and it’s a story of Ms. Karen, doing anything to bring her husband home, who was innocent. If this love story was to have the perfect ending, it would have been them, sitting on a porch, drinking lemonade, with a cool breeze brushing both of their faces. The fact that it didn’t end that way is heartbreaking.”

- Saleem Holbrook, Executive Director of the Abolitionist Law Center and Omar’s mentee

I Cite as Witness the Time follows Omar’s 1971 conviction in the highly sensationalized Dubrow Furniture Store Robbery, unravelling the numerous instances of injustice and corruption which stain his case - including his direct targeting by the FBI’s COINTELPRO operation. It follows how Karen and Omar met, started organizing together across prison walls, and eventually fell in love and got married. It chronicles the creation and rise of their groundbreaking prison boxing program, the “Boxing Association of America” (BAA), which trained several renowned boxers and put on nationally-broadcast fights at Philadelphia's legendary Civic Center and Blue Horizon boxing venues. As formerly incarcerated participants of the program attest, the BAA was above all successful in completely transforming the violent environments of Holmesburg and Graterford prisons.

This story is not only about Karen and Omar—it reflects the reality of thousands of people in Pennsylvania who are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, also known as Death by Incarceration (DBI). This film is more than a document of Karen and Omar’s legacy; it is a tool for change. It reveals the painful reality of life sentencing, the troubled legacy of Philadelphia’s prosecutorial and political history, and the strength of Philadelphia’s past and present grassroots movement to push back.

Origins of the Project

We first met Ms. Karen through meetings for the Human Rights Coalition (HRC), a Philadelphia-based prison advocacy organization founded in 2001 by men in solitary confinement and their family members on the outside. Overtime, Juliette and Ms. Karen built a friendship.

In 2021, Omar passed away. The suddenness of his death cut short the hope that he would, one day, come home a free man, and that his name would be cleared, forcing Ms. Karen to reckon with an unimaginable loss. When Juliette would visit Ms. Karen, she would often express her desire to preserve their legacy and tell the true story of their extraordinary lives. From there, the idea of making a documentary was born. Juliette recruited her then-roommate, Julie, who became the project's directorial/ cinematographic lead. Ms. Karen gave us a list of names of people to speak to, and, in the fall of 2022, we began collecting testimony. The more invested we became in preserving their story, the more we felt it deserved the effort and time to be told with care and shared widely.

We’re Almost There — We need your help!

We are currently in post-production (!) and fundraising to complete the final stages of the film. Those include:

Along the way, we've received invaluable support from friends in just about every way. From music licensing guidance to cinematography, legal advice, research support, editing critique, and general mentorship, our project has been blessed by people who believe in bringing Ms. Karen's story to life.

Sneak Peek ;)

You can view our draft of the trailer here. Imagine what it would be like if it were color-corrected and audio mixed…

The End Goal

On the one hand, this film is destined for the community it seeks to represent: the people impacted by the criminal justice system in Pennsylvania and those fighting for their rights. We intend to screen it locally and host panels fostering conversation in partnership with Philly-based organizations, including HRC and the Abolitionist Law Center (ALC).

On the other hand, we want to spread this story far and wide. We intend to submit the film to independent documentary film festivals on the national and international levels.

In these ways, we seek to fulfill Ms. Karen's goal to bring the couple's story to the "court of public opinion."

Other Ways You Can Help…

While a financial contribution is impactful, there are many ways to help us bring Ms. Karen’s vision to completion:

1. Share the campaign with your friends, family, and networks.

2. Follow us on social media @iciteaswitness_film

3. Offer your skills! Aside from the needs we listed above, we would love assistance with:

4. Fill out our interest form! Stay updated on the film’s progress, give us feedback, and hear about opportunities to get involved.

You can help us get this film over the finish line!