Enabling Difficult Conversations: The Path Forward

Join us for a film screening of The Path Forward followed by conversation between directors Julie Cohen and Mo Husseini, moderated by Dean Christa Acampora. This is the fourth event in the Arts & Sciences Enabling Difficult Conversations Series. This event series seeks to bring in conversation partners with expertise in the area of enabling difficult conversations. This event is open to the public, but registration is required. A catered reception will follow the event.

THE PATH FORWARD

Directors: Julie Cohen & Mo Husseini
Producer: Julie Cohen
Executive Producers: Rania Batrice, Bruce Cohen, Sheila Nevins
Running Time: 39 minutes

As the conversation about the war in Gaza (and the larger issues surrounding Israeli-Palestinian relations) becomes increasingly vitriolic, unhelpful and at times unhinged, powerful alternative voices are emerging. A growing chorus of Palestinians and Israeli Jews are speaking up - often in cross-cultural pairs - against war, occupation and violence, and for peace, justice, empathy and sanity.

The Path Forward seeks to amplify the voices of three of the most eloquent and inspiring of these pairs: Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon, who have both lost family members to the conflict; Sally Abed and Alon Lee Green of the co-existence group Standing Together; and feminist peace activists Yael Braudo-Bahat and Riman Barakat. Interweaving their moving on stage dialogues in the U.S. and Europe with their poignant life stories, this documentary creates a tapestry of voices for peace and reconciliation. The film created to be non-triggering, contains no images of war, death or campus protests. Instead, viewers will be immersed in the mind and heart opening world of innovative thinkers finding a new path forward.

Julie Cohen is an Academy Award nominated documentary filmmaker, and winner of the Jewish Film Institute's 2024 Freedom of Expression Award. Her films include: the Oscar nominated, Emmy winning RBG, and the Peabody winning My Name is Pauli Murray, both directed alongside Betsy West; the Emmy nominated Every Body; and the 10 time Audience Choice Award winning The Sturgeon Queens. Before becoming a filmmaker, Julie was a staff producer for NBC News.

Mo Husseini is Executive Creative Director at TAIT, the global event production company. In the film world, he's worked as a commercial director and as a visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic. Over the past year, he's become a leading voice for Muslim-Jewish peacebuilding, speaking at forums around the U.S. and writing viral essays for Medium and Threads about the Israel/Palestine conflict including "50 Completely True Things."

This event is co-sponsored by the Forum on Religion and Democracy, the Middle Eastern & South Asian Languages & Cultures Department, the Islamic Worlds Initiative and the Jewish Studies Program.

The event will take place in Nau Hall Room 101. Nau Hall is located at 1540 Jefferson Park Avenue. Free street parking is available nearby. Additional paid parking is available in the Central Grounds Garage, a ten-minute walk from Nau Hall.

Host or Publisher UVA College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences