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Mounib, a software entrepreneur who lives in Zurich, Switzerland, says the eureka moment for his project came while he was riding a tram near the end of 2016, following the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president.

“I was feeling myself becoming really afraid of where the world was going, and starting to fear Americans and fear the trajectory of where the whole world was headed,” Mounib says.

“Then I realized I don’t want to start fearing people, I don’t want to start judging people,” Mounib says. “What could I do instead of pointing fingers at these people and being angry at them? Why don’t I offer them something kind and move toward them instead of away from them?”

Because of his success in the tech sector — the Carleton University grad and former Nortel Networks employee has two software companies in Switzerland — Mounib took it upon himself to finance trips for some Americans willing to travel to Egypt and have their experiences filmed.

Egypt was Mounib’s natural destination because while he is Halifax-born, his parents are from Egypt and he used to go there every other summer. Also, because some of his software development is done in Egypt, he had already taken businesspeople and customers to Cairo.

“That aspect of my life gave me confidence that I knew what I was doing in terms of bringing people over and showing them around,” Mounib says. “I felt I had enough background that I could take care of people.”

After that Trump rally, Mounib brought his campaign to the internet and radio. He eventually was able to find seven Americans who accepted his offer. They ranged from an Arizona single mom to a Kentucky beauty queen and born-again Christian to an African-American police officer who said he feared being taken hostage during his travels to a retired school teacher who said she was a former liberal scarred by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“I’m so racist now, I can’t stand myself,” Ellen Decker says when she introduces herself during the film.

Mounib paid for the Americans to spend 10 days in Egypt in the company of local hosts. He also brought San Francisco filmmaker Ingrid Serban to film what happened. The crew captured 250 hours of footage that were skilfully edited to create a film of not quite 100 minutes.

We watch the Americans ease into their trip, practically in vacation mode, at a resort. But soon they are in the thick of cultural exchange, getting to know their hosts on a human level. The film’s early focus on Mounib disappears as the Americans and Egyptians engage. There are a few tense moments, but more moments of bonding that seem both ordinary and remarkable. A heartstring-tugging episode or two movingly demonstrate that a common humanity greater than any cultural divide can provide much-needed consolation.

“The whole process was so risky,” Mounib says. “We didn’t know if we were going to have the right people. In Egypt, we didn’t know how the story was going to unfold. Are we going to create some kind of cohesive film that’s actually engaging?”

Eventually, Mounib felt light-hearted and his attitude was: “If only one person sees this film, it’s worth it.”