stories

Stranger/Sister at Chautauqua Institute

Honored to screen our film, Stranger/Sister as part of “Profiles In Courage” week at Chautauqua Institute on August 9, 2022. We welcomed a vibrant audience of 250 for the screening and panel discussion. In answer to the audience question, “How can we begin this dialogue in our communities?”, filmmaker Kirsten Kelly paid tribute to the power of film as a tool to begin dialogue.
Earlier in the day, Sheryl Olitzky and Atiya Aftab presented a lecture on celebrating differences and standing up in solidarity against hate. After the attack on author Salman Rushdie a few days prior, the dialogue about building strong diverse relationships and communities and standing up against hate and extremism was powerful as the community heals.

Stranger/Sister at Interfaith Philadelphia

Interfaith Philadelphia held a virtual screening and discussion event on December 14, 2021, with special support from the Argosy Foundation and special panelists Tahija Vikalo, Exec, Director of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom and Filmmaker Kirsten Kelly. “The screening of Stranger/Sister which we held was an exceptional opportunity to bring members of our network (approx. 30) together in reflection. The moving story of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom not only provided an opportunity to think about Muslim-Jewish relations, but became an entry point for even broader consideration of the importance of relationships, attentiveness, compassion, and solidarity in building a just world. Participants expressed that they felt moved to hope, optimism, and action.  – Lindsey Chou, Interfaith Philadelphia

Stranger/Sister at UK Inter Faith Week

In partnership with Rose Castle Foundation, Odyssey Impact’s Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime and Filmmaker Kirsten Kelly traveled with Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom Co-Founder Atiya Aftab for three screening and interfaith dialogue events as part of UK Inter Faith Week November 15-17, 2021. The screenings were hosted by the Woolf Institute in Cambridge, Westminster Abbey and New North London Synagogue. Members of the UK’s Muslim-Jewish women’s organizations Nisa Nashim joined the events, along with interfaith leaders, artists and students. Each event was followed by breakout dialogue sessions led by Canon Sarah Snyder, Rev. Katie Givens Kime, Filmmaker Kirsten Kelly and Film Participant Atiya Aftab focusing on bridge building between faiths based on themes in the film and the film’s accompanying resources. Additional international screening invitations were extended from this work. Look for updates soon!

Screening Stranger/Sister with Emerging Faith Leaders Across Traditions

In November 2021, Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime and Canon Sarah Snyder (Rose Castle Foundation) gathered small in-person Stranger/Sister screening + discussion events for emerging faith leaders in Pasadena (hosted by Fuller Seminary), in Oakland (hosted by the Starr King School for the Ministry), in Boston (hosted by the Miller Interreligious Center), in New York (hosted by the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers), and in Princeton (hosted by the Office of Religious Life at Princeton University).

Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish and Studies, on February 18, 2021, hosted an event for 100 people who screened Stranger/Sister and followed with a panel discussion with Sisterhood Co-Founder’s Atiya Aftab and Sheryl Olitzky.

Screening Stranger/Sister for scholars and educators gathered for the Interreligious and Interfaith Studies Unit of the American Academy of Religion in November 2020 was a particularly important pre-launch event, since this guild is a major nexus for those who teach world religions courses across the globe.  Educators noted how important it is to be able to share stories of multifaith cooperation led by grassroots efforts, rather than house of worship leaders.  

In the fall of 2020, Odyssey Fellow Staci Plonsky, a student at Iliff School of Theology, screened Stranger/Sister alongside a women’s book study of Barbara Brown Taylor’s Holy Envy. The women in the 8-week study group at Suntree United Methodist Church in Cocoa, Florida held diverse political views, and were aided by the film in talking about some of the difficult topics arising in the 2020 election season.  Staci reported, “We received rave reviews from class participants! Many commented about their paradigms shifting as a result of the concepts explored in that class.”  

Leaning into her call to develop as a public theologian, Odyssey Fellow Ristina Gooden screened Stranger/Sister in fall 2020 with the Disciples of Welcome cohort of more than 40 United Methodist clergy across North Carolina.  The film prompted a rich discussion of the role of Christian clergy in fostering truly transformative interfaith partnerships in their local contexts.  

The Alliance to Advance Interfaith Collaboration at Rutgers University hosted the Stranger/Sister screening and I moderated the panel discussion. It was amazing to see the number and mix of students that attended and witness the dynamic conversation that took place between the Muslim, Christian and Jewish chaplains which included a Rutgers Student Affairs staff member. The conversation touched on the challenges of interfaith discussion and action on campus. We discussed the challenges of how texts are seen through a political lens. We spoke about how to overcome seeing each other as “others” and how to engage in dialogue even when you disagree on issues. The chaplains in fact modeled exactly what we hoped: that the message of the Sisterhood and Stranger/Sister goes far beyond relationships between Muslim and Jewish women, and can be applied to life on a university campus.

The effect was immediate! Our chaplaincy received inquiries from Muslim students after the screening seeking suggested ways to engage in interfaith dialogue with Jewish students on campus.

The positive ripple of the film is real!

In a month of hope – let’s keep spreading the ripple!”

– Atiya Aftab