about
UNDIVIDED is a docuseries (in development) that asks the question: “Who is included in the story of America?”
Hosted by Simran Jeet Singh—an educator, activist, and national bestselling author—UNDIVIDED takes us on a cross-country tour to discover how the fight for freedom through American history has shaped and been shaped by our diverse religious communities. UNDIVIDED introduces audiences to stories that are often unknown and overlooked, shedding light on how our unique struggles actually bind us together.
Our pilot episode features diverse Muslim American experiences, including enslaved African Muslims, the Nation of Islam, and modern Islamophobia. Through these stories, our show asks: How might our perceptions of Islam as anti-American change when we understand that Muslims have been here since before the US was founded and played an instrumental role in building this country?
Other episodes currently in production feature Jewish, Latter-day Saint, and Sikh communities. We explore questions including: How do queer Latter-day Saints navigate their faith and gender identities? How did a small Jewish community in Rhode Island help form George Washington’s commitment to religious freedom? And how has the Sikh commitment to service advanced inclusion in the military and police departments?
UNDIVIDED seeks to help audiences better understand our shared American history by humanizing people and communities whose contributions to building our country are typically marginalized. It features thoughtful, dynamic, and engaging storytelling to reshape the narrative we tell ourselves about our country and about one another. And ultimately, it offers all Americans an opportunity to help create a more perfect union at a time when our country is so deeply divided.
host
SIMRAN JEET SINGH is one of the country’s leading voices at the intersection of religious pluralism, social justice, and popular media. He is a national bestselling author of books for adults and children from Penguin Random House, host of Wisdom & Practice co-produced by PRX and the Aspen Institute, a columnist for RNS, and a contributor for TIME.
Simran is a professor of religion and history at Union Theological Seminary, with graduate degrees from Harvard and Columbia. He is no stranger to the camera, appearing on The Daily Show, NBC, ABC, CNN, PBS, and Democracy Now, and he has been a keynote speaker at various venues, including SXSW, Aspen Ideas Festival, The White House, and Stanford University.
Charming and even-tempered, Simran exudes peace in the face of conflict, a moral champion of inclusivity at a time of division and national strife. Through dynamic interviews with community leaders, historians, and activists, Simran immerses himself in the lived experiences of practitioners and navigates how the spectrum of religious community life has played a role in the growth of our nation.
production
UNDIVIDED is being developed by the Emmy Award-winning production team at DDC.
DDC has led production on feature documentaries for HBO (‘Momentum Generation’) and ESPN (‘30 for 30’), as well as docuseries and feature docs for Apple TV+(‘Super League: The War for Football’, ‘The Line’), Paramount+ (‘11 Minutes’), PBS (Independent Lens), and Fox Sports (‘Nossa Chape’).
For the past two decades, DDC has produced brand films for top companies like Slack, Gatorade, ADM, and Red Bull. A leader in international media production, DDC has managed projects in 90+ countries for USAID, UNICEF, the US State Department, WWF, Habitat for Humanity, and dozens of other international organizations.
DDC also the unique experience of working with a diverse spectrum of faith-based groups and interreligious programs, including The Aspen Institute’s Religion & Society Program, Catholic Relief Services, The Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign, Jews United for Justice, Lutheran World Relief, Episcopal Relief & Development, Keshet, and the US Baha’i National Center.
.webp)
team
Director/Co-Writer
jack gordon
Jack is co-founder of DDC and director/co-writer of our UNDIVIDED concept. Jack has 20 years of experience producing short-form documentaries in dozens of countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America/the Caribbean. He has been a camera operator on productions for Apple TV+, Showtime, Paramount+, and Netflix. His short film To Bigotry No Sanction (2022, George Washington University) earned recognition from the Religion Communicators Council, and became the inspiration for developing Undivided with Simran Jeet Singh.
producer
Dilsey davis
Dilsey is a multicultural filmmaker and close DDC collaborator who has written and directed multiple projects for PBS and ITVS. Her film Now Let Us Sing (2021) was broadcast on PBS and film festivals including Cucalorus and DOC NYC. Her most recent doc Rissi Palmer: Still Here (2023) premiered on the American Masters series. She has produced documentary shorts as part of the Hindsight Project, a collaboration between ReelSouth, Firelight Media, and the Center for Asian American Media. She has also produced and directed four documentary shorts for ITVS/Independent Lens’s Stories for Social Justice.
producer
colby gottert
Colby is co-founder of DDC and an Emmy Award-winning producer and cinematographer whose credits include the critically-acclaimed feature documentaries Super League: The War For Football (2023, Apple TV+); Momentum Generation (2018, Emmy Award for Best Sports Long-Form Documentary; Audience Award Tribeca Film Festival; HBO); Nossa Chape (2018, SXSW Film Festival, FOX Sports Films Magnify Series); and Youngstown Boys (2013, part of the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30 for 30 series).
Post-Production Supervisor
Luis Dechtiar
Luis is the Emmy Award-winning editor on Momentum Generation (2018, HBO), as well as notable documentary features Super League: The War for Football (2023, Apple TV+), Nossa Chape (2018, Fox Sports), and Phenoms (2018, Fox Sports). His work has premiered at film festivals such as TriBeCa, SXSW, and DOC NYC, and has been featured on Apple TV+, HBO, Fox, PBS, Disney+, ARTE Europe, CBS, Fusion TV, National Geographic, and The Atlantic, among others. Luis is a close DDC collaborator who lead the post-production team on Dilsey’s previous PBS/ITVS work, including Now Let Us Sing (2021).
