Throughout the week of April 21-27, 2025, as part of the eighth annual National Week of Conversation - community spaces across the country are inviting local audiences to participate in the second annual Better Together Film Festival. The festival aims to shift the culture of the country away from division and hatred, and toward cohesion and hope.
Any individual or group can take advantage of this free opportunity to turn down the heat and bridge divides. Register to attend festival events in dozens of communities coast-to-coast, or sign up to host an event in your local area. Free film screening links and a full plug-and-play toolkit will be provided to pre-registered partners to host their local events between April 21-27, 2025.
"Now is a time for Americans to hear, see, and experience stories of people coming together across their differences to solve problems together in their neighborhoods and in their communities. As a nation we must choose curiosity over contempt, dialogue over demonization, and empathy over apathy,” says Karissa Raskin, CEO of Listen First Project. “The Better Together Film Festival offers this opportunity by inspiring strength and sparking conversation among neighbors so we can turn down the heat and find a way forward together.”
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Dozens of libraries, community centers, faith institutions, colleges, and other local spaces across America will participate in screening films that showcase hopeful stories of bridging divides. Audiences will be invited to engage in facilitated conversations following the screenings.
After organizations register and select the film(s) they want to screen, the Better Together Film Festival team will reach out to provide registrants with free film screening links, conversation guides, social media toolkits, a centralized registration platform, and impact measurement tools to ensure that screening events are as successful as possible.
Featured films include “A Case for Love,” “All God’s Children,” “A Road Trip Across a Divided America,” “Refuge,” “Tennessee 11,” and “The Elephant in the Room.”
The Better Together Film Festival is organized by the 500-member Listen First Coalition. The festival is supported by the donations and volunteer hours of Americans committed to the bridging movement.
CONTACT: Karissa Raskin, karissa@listenfirstproject.org, 860-488-0018
