The lastest data from the Annual Survey of Museum-Goers shows that trust in museums is rising from already high levels, even as trust in the government declines. That gives our sector a unique platform from which to bridge partisan divides and foster broad, thoughtful conversations about our nation’s future in the coming year. Today on the blog, Karissa Raskin, CEO of Listen First Project, shares an opportunity for museums to partner with Listen First on the Better Together Film Festival. I hope you will consider becoming a host for these screenings, and using it as a catalyst for critically important conversations with your community.

–Elizabeth Merritt, Vice President, Strategic Foresight, and Founding Director, Center for the Future of Museums

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Due to the Unites States of America’s 250th anniversary, invitations abound encouraging Americans to reflect on where our country has been, consider the current state of our cultural and political identity as a nation, and envision a future that inspires and activates a renewed commitment to the USA’s values of freedom and unity. Considering this milestone in our history, 2026 is certainly a year for storytelling. Remembering the stories of our past, honoring the stories of our present, and writing the story for our future. 

The American story has always been written by everyday people stepping up to strengthen their communities and our country. It is through stories that we understand ourselves, others, and the world in which we live; museums play an important role in capturing, celebrating, and preserving these stories.

As the renowned museum educator and author Dr. Leslie Bedford said, “Museums are storytellers. They exist because once upon a time some person or group believed there was a story worth telling, over and over, for generations to come.” 

Film is also a powerful method of telling stories. We’ve all been moved by films that portray characters we feel connected to. We’ve all left a theater chewing on a concept that challenged our own opinions or inspired a new way of thinking. As well-known film critic Roger Ebert said, “No other art form touches life the way the movies do. Because it takes us inside the lives of other people.” David Brooks made a similar point about museums, stating, “The best museums and museum exhibits illuminate what it means to be human.” 

So what do Hollywood and museums have in common? They share the profound ability to help individuals understand each other and see the humanity that unifies us all. In the current state of our country, the importance of this commonality cannot be overstated.

At a time when Americans’ trust in others – and in our institutions – is at an all time low, and our media is plagued by toxically polarizing narratives, Americans need to hear, see, and experience the stories of people coming together despite their differences to solve problems together in their neighborhoods and in their communities. Museums can help meet that need. In addition to serving as educational centers and spaces which celebrate the arts, science, history and innovation, museums also serve as gathering places for community building. They are hubs where people can come together across their differences to explore new ideas and immerse their minds in a spirit of curiosity. Museums have a propensity for bridge building – as was written about in a previous blog post authored by Made by Us and more recently highlighted through exhibits like Let’s Talk at the National Liberty Museum. 

This is why I am so excited to invite museums across the country to take part in the 3rd Annual Better Together Film Festival, a national initiative coordinated by Listen First Project on behalf of our Coalition of 500+ organizations committed to bridging divides in the USA. Together in July 2026, we aim to host 250 film screenings in communities across the country in alignment with the USA’s 250th Anniversary. 

Partners in the Listen First Coalition are working at the national, regional, state, and local levels to bring people together across differences to build understanding, relationships, trust, and solutions that can help turn down the heat in our country and find a way forward together. Partners represent a diverse range of organizations: nonprofits, colleges and universities, theater projects, research labs, presidential centers, libraries, faith institutions, K-12 schools, businesses, and of course, museums. We are immensely grateful for the number of museums who have leaned in with us on this mission, including Monticello, Every Museum a Civic Museum, Atlanta History Center, National Liberty Museum, and National Museum and Center for Service (to name a few). We are equally as excited to invite new museum partners to our Coalition family!

A great way to get involved is to sign up as a Hosting Partner to bring the Better Together Film Festival (BTFF) to your community. National in scale, but local in practice, the decentralized model of the festival was specifically designed as a way for organizations with or without prior experience facilitating bridging programs to participate. Hosting Partners will be provided a toolkit of resources to ensure their local event runs smoothly, including suggested Conversation Guide(s) to use during post-screening activities with the audience, marketing materials, audience registration support, and impact assessment tools.

Museums offer the ideal venue to host screenings of BTFF films, and doing so can support museums’ mission to serve as community hubs for civic engagement. Each film featured in our festival is invited based on their connection to the themes of bridge building and values of pluralism. Hosting Partners do not need to screen all of the films included in the festival, but rather can select as many or as few as they wish to screen.

Each screening event must be free to the public to increase accessibility and will be accompanied by post-screening activities that engage audience members in facilitated dialogues and/or other interactive bridging experiences. These activities are a critical component of BTFF, as we encourage audience members to reflect on the messages in the films, connect with others in the audience, and create space for empathy building between neighbors of different backgrounds. The post-screening events are an opportunity for your museum to raise awareness of your own programming and grow your audience, as well as partnerships with local bridge building facilitators. 

The issues of division and mistrust in our country are too deep for any one organization to solve alone. If we are going to write a story for the future of the United States that chooses curiosity over contempt, dialogue over demonization, and empathy over apathy, we will need all hands on deck. Listen First Project is eager to collaborate with you to achieve that goal, and we invite your partnership on the Better Together Film Festival as a first step.