The Documentary

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Update on the Campaign

We need to raise $21,000 to finish the film. Thanks to the generosity of so many, production costs of $65,000 have been paid and we have raised $19,500 toward post-production! Post-production costs include film editing, animations, audio mixing and sweetening, broadcast rights for music, images, and historical footage, interview transcription, final script preparation, and in-studio narration recording.

The Billing

Are Arabs really as foreign to Indianapolis as some think? Edward Curtis, an historian and descendant of the first generation of Arab immigrants, can’t believe what he discovers as he researches the unknown role of Arab-descended people in building this most American town. He invites other Arab Americans to take a journey with him to Indianapolis’ most iconic landmarks—Lucas Oil Stadium, Monument Circle, the Indiana War Memorials, St. George Church, the Indiana University School of Medicine, the Indiana Capitol. Together, they unearth a legacy that all Hoosiers must understand if we are to overcome the burdens of prejudice and discrimination.

The Team

Edward Curtis, executive producer and presenter, is the Arab American descendant of the Samaha and Hamaway families who settled in the Midwest before World War I. The author or editor of more than a dozen books about Muslim, Arab, and Black history, he brings on-camera experience as a former college news anchor and an opera singer and actor.

Becky Fisher, director and producer, has over twenty years of experience writing and producing films for national corporations, local small businesses, non-profits, and other production companies. She oversees projects from concept to editing and post-production coordination. Her credits include work for The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, The American Red Cross COVID-19 Vaccine Education campaign, and the Indiana Tree Project.

Vinnie Manganello, director of photography, is an Emmy and Telly award-winning producer, videographer, and editor of documentaries and other films. A trusted partner of WFYI-TV in Indianapolis, he has worked on Eva: A-7063, Waves of Fortune: China’s Maritime Silk Road, When the World Answered: Florence, Women Artists, and the 1966 Flood and The Revolutionist: Eugene V. Debs.