Watch with your neighbours

How to run a film night that brings people of different faiths, and none, together

Seven steps

Find a co-host from another faith, community or none. Plan it together, so it belongs to everyone from the start.
Pick a date that avoids Friday prayers, Friday-night Shabbat, Sunday services, fasts and festivals. A weekday evening usually works.
Choose the film together (ideas below). Check its BBFC rating if children are coming.
If you show the film outside a private home, check you have a screening licence; many community venues already hold one.
Food: label everything, offer vegetarian, halal and kosher-friendly choices, and skip the alcohol.
Welcome everyone at the door, mix the seating, and keep the introduction to two minutes.
After the film, give 20 to 30 minutes for talk in small mixed groups, then a few words of thanks from both hosts.

Ground rules for the talk

Speak for yourself: 'I felt', not 'you people'.
Listen to understand, not to win.
Everyone may pass. What is said here stays here.

Six questions for after the film

Which character did you most recognise yourself in, and why?
Where did faith help someone in this story, and where did it get in the way?
What did the film get right about a community you know?
What surprised you?
Was there a moment where someone changed their mind about another person? What made it happen?
What is one thing from tonight you would like to do on our street?

Films to start with

Le Grand Voyage (2004): a father and son drive from France to Makkah.
The Infidel (2010): a British Muslim dad discovers he was born Jewish.
Wadjda (2012): a Riyadh girl enters a Qur'an contest to win a bike.
Fiddler on the Roof (1971): Tevye talks to God as life changes around him.
Chariots of Fire (1981): a Christian Scot and a Jewish Londoner run for Britain.
East Is East (1999): a Salford family, big laughs and real love.
Arranged (2007): an Orthodox Jewish teacher and a Muslim teacher become friends.
The Way (2010): a grieving father walks the Camino de Santiago.
Paddington 2 (2017): for families: kindness changes a whole prison.

Full list with where to watch in the UK: whoisallah.org.uk/screen#neighbours. Film titles are listed for discussion; we are not connected with the films' makers.