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18th November 2009 by Julia Hosking

Prior to the launch of Hillsong United's i-heart film on 18 November, We're All in This Together, Julia Hosking threw a few questions at the film's co-director Danielle Saleh.

1) When you watch We're All in This Together, and reflect on the creation of it, what challenges you the most?

As a team we have experienced so much during the creation of We're All In This Together. It's been a humbling and stretching time for all of us and we have had our eyes opened to so many facets of life.

It's always challenging to reflect on the people we have had the privilege to meet along the journey as they opened up their lives, and their homes, so we could bring our cameras in to tell their stories. It's humbling to see people living in conditions that we could never imagine ourselves in and the questions always remain: why weren't we born into these conditions? why them not us?

2) What is your favourite part/ scene in the documentary?

That is a really hard question!

Every scene, every shot, every edit has a story behind it. We would research every place before we visited and set up interviews, but I think often the best parts of the film were captured when we least expected it. In New Orleans, we wandered the streets where Hurricane Katrina hit and a local lady welcomed us into her home. In Mexico, we went to the peripheral of a garbage dump and met a beautiful couple who had no real home to live in. These people were in the midst of a crisis and their emotions were still raw, so it was a privilege to be able to capture these moments and share them in the film.

But what I love most about the film is that it takes you on a journey via so many different mediums. We used behind-the-scenes footage of Hillsong United travelling, mixed in with sit down interviews with specialists in their field, people's stories, historical voice-overs, animations, on the street interviews with young people from all over the world, as well as statistics and quotes. This is all driven by music that sets the tone and movement of the film. It's a real eclectic mix of mediums, which hopefully keeps the film moving and evolving.

3) If you could see one change in the world, based upon the content contained within the documentary, what change would you love to see?

We would love for people's thinking to be challenged on an individual level; for people to be stretched and affected the way we have been whilst making the film. And once they have walked out of the cinema, that they will view the part that they can play in a new way.

4) What is Hillsong United planning on doing from this point forth about the injustices they witnessed during the creation of the film?

I think it's easy to get moved after watching a film like this. Often your heart breaks and you don't know what to do next because the need is so great and it can all feel overwhelming. Through i-heart.org, Hillsong United have created an online platform that will provide education on the issues but also encourage people to use their gifts, talents, voices and creativity to make a change and it will highlight organisations that people may not have heard of otherwise. There is a real power in unity and Hillsong United's hope is that this platform can be used to encourage and connect people together to bring change in their part of the world.

5) What is the most exciting aspect regarding the international release of the film for you and for Hillsong United?

The opportunity to have the film in cinemas in Australia and internationally is one we don't take for granted. The message is for the church as a whole but we are really excited that people who wouldn't normally walk into a church, and/or those who don't have a full understanding of who God is, will have the opportunity to hear the Gospel in new and different way. We hope it plants a seed in people's hearts and it breaks down the preconceptions that people have about the church and God.

** For more information on We're All in This Together click here.

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