“Beyond Our Differences”: Movies that Matter

Beyond Our Differences proves that stories build bridges; dogmas build walls. When we know a person’s story, we can empathize and relate to one another. Generals and politicians plan more wars; it is up to religious people to band together and create a better world of peace. It is up to us to walk the talk of our faith and mend the world together.

This ambitious documentary was originally presented on Bill Moyers Journal (PBS) in 2008. The director is Peter Bisanz, a former member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders. As a member of the WEF’s Council of 100 Leaders, he was challenged to envision ways to stop the rising tide of animosity between the Muslim world and the West. Bisanz has taken that issue and folded it into other splits and separations between people — human rights violations, the persistence of categorizing reality in terms of “us” versus “them,” poverty, hunger, conflict, the refusal to forgive or reconcile with others, and the trashing of the planet.