Beirut on the Bayou
Lebanese author, Raif Shwayri, travels to Louisiana to trace the life of his grandfather who once worked as a peddler serving the Cajuns on Bayou Lafourche. Alfred “Sweet Papa” Nicola spent nearly two decades, in the early 20th century, selling his wares to the French-speaking melting pot that was developing on the edge of civilization. His years of traveling to these isolated villages would eventually, and surprisingly, lead to substantial aid for tens of thousands of disabled and impoverished children in Lebanon. This film celebrates the rarely told story of early Arab-American immigrants and includes never-before-seen 16mm footage of South Louisiana and Beirut from the 1950s. It also includes rare photos of early Cajun life as well as an original Arabic score and a cover of a Cajun classic using Arabic instruments.
- Overview
- Cast
- Crew
Beirut on the Bayou
- Overview
- Cast
- Crew
Status
Released
Release Date
Oct 20, 2019
Runtime
0h 27m
Genres
Documentary
Original Title
Beirut on the Bayou
Director
Brent Joseph
Description
Lebanese author, Raif Shwayri, travels to Louisiana to trace the life of his grandfather who once worked as a peddler serving the Cajuns on Bayou Lafourche. Alfred “Sweet Papa” Nicola spent nearly two decades, in the early 20th century, selling his wares to the French-speaking melting pot that was developing on the edge of civilization. His years of traveling to these isolated villages would eventually, and surprisingly, lead to substantial aid for tens of thousands of disabled and impoverished children in Lebanon. This film celebrates the rarely told story of early Arab-American immigrants and includes never-before-seen 16mm footage of South Louisiana and Beirut from the 1950s. It also includes rare photos of early Cajun life as well as an original Arabic score and a cover of a Cajun classic using Arabic instruments.
