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CHESTERTON, Ind. (AP) -- A film crew from the Arab television network Al-Jazeera visited northwestern Indiana to interview voters for a segment on the U.S. presidential election.
The interviews conducted Monday around Chesterton will comprise a three-minute documentary - "Red Blue Road Trip" - that will be available on Al-Jazeera's Web site in the next few days.
Filmmakers Graham Meriwether and Chris Henderson are counting down the days until the Nov. 4 election by visiting 18 American communities and making a companion documentary for each one.
The daily Web documentaries consist entirely of interviews with voters discussing election issues, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.
Henderson said the two-man crew hasn't encountered much resistance to Al-Jazeera from the people they've interviewed.
"It's not always the first thing we mention, but if they ask us who we're shooting for, we're honest about it," he said. "We don't really have anything to hide. We're cognizant that people may have hesitancy because what's been broadcast in the U.S. about it."
Meriwether - the videographer - edits the footage on a laptop computer as the two drive a 2002 Honda Accord. The car sports both McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden bumper stickers. Henderson said improved video technology made the trip possible.
The duo has already traveled to Ashland, Ohio, and Detroit, and planned to be in Elk Grove, Wis., on Tuesday. Their trip ends in Keene, N.H.
The goal of the trip is to listen to what voters are concerned about. Henderson said the people they interviewed in Chesterton, about 15 miles east of Gary, reflect the close election.
"Most of the people that we talked to ahead of time said it was a strongly Republican area," he said. "But the people we talked to were basically split - three for Obama, two McCain supporters, one guy who is not voting, and one undecided."
On the Net: http://english.aljazeera.net
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