Beirut on the Bayou (2023)

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.

About the filmmaker

Brent Joseph is a filmmaker from New Orleans who got his start as an assistant in the cutting rooms of David Fincher, Seth Rogen, and David Simon. He went on to edit several feature films and documentaries including “La Gloria” (starring David Morse) and “Shell Shocked” (PBS). His directing work — from Beirut on the Bayou, which traces a little-known chapter of early Arab-American life in Cajun Louisiana, to his Katrina portraits Holdout and A Loud Color — is tied together by stark visuals, original music, and a persistent curiosity about how people find meaning when the familiar fades away.