Author, filmmaker, and photographer Karin Muller has spent the past twenty years traveling alone to remote cultures and conflict zones to bring home stories about places and people that few Westerners will ever see.  She has written three highly-acclaimed books and produced international television series on Cuba, Vietnam, the Andes, China, Sudan, and Japan for PBS and National Geographic.

For her latest film project, Karin traveled alone to Egypt for three months in an attempt to de-mystify and humanize Americans’ views of Muslim communities by collecting up close and very personal stories about a fundamentally kind and generous people struggling to emerge from six decades of brutal dictatorship, fear, and propaganda.

The result of this work is a feature-length documentary in which Karin captures the lives of Egyptians by gaining their trust and becoming a part of their communities, even in the middle of a revolution: at one point Karin is attacked by a frightened mob who sees her as a threat because of her nationality, religion, and the color of her skin.  She develops personal relationships with garbage collectors, Nile fisherman, camel traders, mothers, drivers and acquaintances made in coffeehouses that will change the way you think and feel about the world’s largest religion.

In a world of fear and confusion following increased terrorist attacks on the West, the need for increased cultural outreach and understanding has never been greater. Documentaries like those produced by Ms. Muller are an essential step on the path toward learning how to coexist in peace on this planet.