Film News

"We've never seen a better film than 'Free Trip to Egypt' to show how we will heal today's human disconnections"

Kindness Films, the makers of Free Trip to Egypt, have today welcomed the enormous nationwide response to their #PledgeToListen Day of Unity on June 12, 2019. The event will bring diverse communities from across the US together for one day, in order to jointly watch a screening of Free Trip to Egypt, followed by a telecast featuring celebrities, thought leaders and politicians, live from Washington D.C. With around 500 cinemas confirmed, and over 10,000 guests expected to attend, the #PledgeToListen Day of Unity will be delivered in collaboration with a range of partners. However, organizers are keen to point out that there is still time to register to host a screening.

Free Trip to Egypt In Theaters in May/June

LOS ANGELES — March 26, 2019 — For Immediate Release — Seeking to build a bridge of mutual understanding and friendship, a Canadian-Egyptian entrepreneur of Muslim faith decides to reach out to the very people who fear him. Traveling across the U.S. to find Americans concerned about an Islamic threat, Tarek Mounib makes the strangers he encounters an intriguing offer … a Free Trip to Egypt, an eye-opening and profound journey captured in a new documentary, the platform for the launch of a global social impact campaign.

The Film is Complete and #PledgeToListen Has Begun

With five parallel camera crews following the American participants, there ended up being over 250 hours of camera footage.  The team had their work cut out for them - how would they cut all these hours into a feature length documentary and still convey the magic of the journey that was experienced. See all posts

Inspiration

When Tarek met the people of Kingman

You might remember Kingman, Arizona after it became notorious as the location for a Sacha Baron-Cohen prank, which portrayed the town's residents as racists and provoked a wave of condemnation. Watch our short video to find out what happened when Tarek decided that someone needed to reach out to the people of Kingman. Were these people really as prone to division as Sacha made out?

Robert Strock: The Healing Confluence of Civility, Compassion, and Collaboration

In the final guest installment in our Inspiration series, Robert Strock — psychotherapist, author of Awareness That Heals, and Co-President of The Global Bridge Foundation — responds to themes in Free Trip to Egypt by drawing on his professional experience to explore how we can overcome fear and prejudice to achieve unity.

Kent Nerburn: The Miracle of Giving

In the latest guest post as part of our Inspiration series, which explores the key themes behind #PledgeToListen, we present an excerpt from 'Simple Truths' by award-winning American author Kent Nerburn. Kent has written extensively about nature, place, and spirituality. Here, he hones in on the immense power of one of the most commonplace acts that make us human.  

Steve Bhaerman: Hearty Laughter, A Heart-to-Heart Connection That Builds Bridges

Steve Bhaerman is an author and comedian who has spent the past 30 years performing cosmic comedy in the guise of Swami Beyondananda. He also coaches and consults with others to help them add humorous wisdom to their content. Here, he offers us a unique perspective on the power of laughter to bridge divides — an inspiring contribution as part of our ongoing series to inspire everyone to #PledgeToListen.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro: To Listen and Love

Continuing our series developing the ideas behind the #PledgeToListen campaign, we’re delighted to include a guest contribution from acclaimed author, teacher and speaker Rabbi Rami Shapiro on how Free Trip to Egypt reflects some core concepts within theology.

Three Pillars (3): Authentic Compassionate Conversation

In the final introductory article on the core ideas behind #PledgeToListen, Tarek Mounib examines the place of authentic compassionate conversation in the project he founded as a response to the experience of making Free Trip to Egypt.

Three Pillars (2): Deep Listening

In part two of our series that aims to assist you in engaging with #PledgeToListen, Tarek Mounib asks us to consider the significance of deep listening. Many of us are guilty of fixating on how we come across: how we broadcast information through our speech or appearance. But in a world packed with so many words and images that we have created, it’s perhaps unsurprising that we often overlook the importance of how we receive and process information. Deep Listening is absolutely vital to developing meaningful human connection.

Three Pillars (1): Civilty

Want to know more about the three pillars of #PledgeToListen? In this series of articles by the creator of Free Trip to Egypt, Tarek Mounib, we break down the fundamental ideas behind the pledge, and how we think it can best be fulfilled. First up, Tarek outlines the core tenets of Civility: a value that is easy to espouse, but that many of us struggle to live up to in our own interactions.

Discussion Guide

Free Trip to Egypt is just the start of a wider project to foster shared understanding between people of different cultures and to celebrate the value of human connection. With this goal in mind, we’ve created a comprehensive discussion guide to accompany the film, and provide a framework for the dialogue that we aim to inspire. See all posts