Film Screening: Abraham's Bridge

Abraham’s Bridge documents an experiment in intentional proximity in the American Midwest. The film chronicles the construction of a mosque, synagogue, church, and interfaith center on 38 acres in Omaha: connected by a circular wooden bridge, a vast donation garden, and a quietly disruptive vision, Tri-Faith seeks to cross boundaries and build new forms of engagement. They must also confront difficult questions about the limits of the Abrahamic model, declining affiliation of youth, and the rising currents of division. After October 7, 2023, they can no longer avoid the topic of Israel/Palestine and must find a way forward.

This short film is a place-based, visual case study which connects the particular and universal in its depiction of lived religion. Here, religion is expressed through architecture, agriculture, and through daily relational activity. While the story is distinctly American, told through the unique lens of Omaha, as a case study of co-location it facilitates critical reflection and comparative exploration--whether in analogous spaces like the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, the House of One in Berlin (now under construction), or in other spaces of unplanned, unintentional, or unwanted religious proximity.

Abraham’s Bridge makes use of the affective, sensorial, and aesthetic capacities of film while providing multiple points of access for discourse and discussion. It is intended for both academic and generalist audiences.

Bio of Producer/Director:

Elinor (Ellie) Pierce is the research director at the Pluralism Project at Harvard University, a writer, consultant, and independent filmmaker. Ellie contributed to the award-winning multimedia project On Common Ground: World Religions in America, co-edited World Religions in Boston, and helped develop the Webby Award-winning pluralism.org website. She is the author of the case collection Pluralism in Practice and co-edited two volumes in interfaith studies. Ellie collaborated on two feature length films: Acting on Faith, about women and religious activism and Fremont, U.S.A., documenting religious diversity in a California city; she co-produced two short films and is the producer/director and assistant editor of the award-winning documentary Abraham’s Bridge. Ellie has an undergraduate degree in Anthropology from Macalester College, and a master’s degree from the Harvard Divinity School.

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