Films That Matter - Screenings & Events

GOD & ALLAH NEED TO TALK: A Film for Healing and Reconciliation (by Ruth Broyde-Sharone)

"It’s kinda hard and crispy, but it tastes real good," says Yusef, a Muslim African-American boy, after trying some matzah.

When was the last time an interfaith event sold out? Well the premiere of Ruth Broyde-Sharone's new documentary, God & Allah Need to Talk: A Film for Reconciliation and Healing, generated so much interest that as many as 200 people were placed on a waiting list and other screenings were hurriedly being planned to satisfy the demand.

The screening of the film was part of a larger multicultural, interfaith event held in West Hollywood on September 14th. 2003, which also included musicians, singers, and dancers. Following the unsettling events of 9/11, filmmaker Broyde-Sharone saw an urgent need to document the efforts of courageous Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Los Angeles who were determined to bring healing to a fragmented nation. The film illustrates how interfaith dialogue, community outreach, and even dinner conversation can be harnessed to dissolve fear and suspicion and, ultimately, to create a path towards true reconciliation. Broyde-Sharone completed the short film in four months. (Photo: Ismaili dancers perform for the crowd).

"After our collective trauma of 9/11 - caused by Islamic extremists - we have divided ourselves to such an extent that, in the process, we have even divided God," says Broyde-Sharone. (Photo: Two Muslim men find common ground at the event).

Dr. Nur Amersi, a volunteer from the local Shia Ismaili Muslim community, and Dr. Julie Heifetz, a cultural anthropologist, both helped to organize the event and joined the filmmaker for closing remarks at the conclusion of the event. (Photo: The filmmaker joined by Dr. Julie Heifetz (left) and Dr. Nur Amersi (right).

To read further coverage of the event, go to our press page.