Acting on Faith [film]

This documentary profiles the lives and work of three US women of different faiths. According to the creators, this film "offers insight into, and encourages dialogue on, the powerful streams of thought and action that are being created by women activists of different religious and cultural traditions here in the United States. It is a face-to-face encounter with the women who are pioneering this new religious activism."

The project website offers the following descriptions of the three women profiled in this film:

• Shamita Das Dasgupta uses strong female figures in Hindu myth to provide encouragement to battered women to leave abusive husbands
• Laila Al-Marayati illustrates how the Muslim principle of 'zakat' served as the inspiration for the first free clinic in South Central Los Angeles
• Mushim Ikeda-Nash integrates the uniquely relational experiences of women into the American Buddhist practice

Click here to read more about this project or to see sample film clips.

This film is offered on DVD, but VHS copies may be made available by special request. An accompanying online study guide, offered free of charge, is designed to be used to facilitate group discussion around the issues in the film. Click here to open or save the 7-page study guide as a MS Word document; click here for the PDF version.