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Hot Docs Review: Crossing the Divide (Chrisann Hessing, Ashley Brook, 2025)

Posted on
2 May 2025
by
Paul

Amongst the many problems facing modern society these days, political polarization is certainly one of the big ones. Having a civil conversation with someone who doesn’t share your perspective on things can often be challenging. We could just accept that this is the way things are now or we could make the effort to look for another way to deal with differences of opinion, one that maybe even helps us come to a better understanding of the other perspective and possibly even move on from there to find some solutions. Not the easiest thing to do for sure, but it’s the path that Amanda Sussman and Kathleen McGill choose to take.

Showing as part of Citizen Minutes, the Hot Docs-commissioned series of short docs on the topic of civic engagement, Crossing the Divide follows Sussman and McGill as they take a trip to the U.S. for the Braver Angels conference, whose only requirement for attendance is that you must be paired with someone with the opposite political point of view. While there, they take part in several workshops and discussions on the idea of “depolarizing yourself,” with a focus on topics such as stepping outside your bubble, sharing your POV and, hopefully, finding some common ground. As one of the other participants point out at one point, “If we don’t start listening to each other … we’re in for a bleak future.”

Ultimately, the goal of listening to each other, sharing ideas, and hopefully finding some common ground is the ideal in any democratic society and should be the key to working towards the common good. It’s a noble goal, but it’s certainly not going to be easy and it’s definitely not happening overnight. But there’s always hope, I suppose. The first big step is finding someone on the other side who’s willing and open to having those conversations.

PrevPreviousHot Docs Review: Selena y Los Dinos (Isabel Castro, 2025)

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