Two strangers enter an empty room and sit on chairs facing each other. Each has an envelope full of questions, from which they take it in turns to ask each other. Probing questions, personal questions, questions about their past, and about their hopes for the future. Questions that make them laugh, and cry. The unscripted, heartfelt answers present an intimate portrayal of the power of conversation to build a bridge across borders, backgrounds and untold obstacles.

Australian not-for-profit Uniting has been providing services to the community for over 100 years. For the launch of their new brand, we wanted to create a film that showcased the incredible breadth of their community work. We brought together pairs of people that Uniting had helped, each from vastly different backgrounds, to hear each other’s stories.

To give the film a sense of emotional authenticity, it was important to use the people who know Uniting best – its clients, staff and volunteers. The call went out through Uniting’s networks and, over 10 weeks, from an initial list of more than 100, we cast 10 pairs. Understanding that natural chemistry would be critical to producing compelling conversations, we matched pairs based on common themes such as identity struggles or the need to leave home. And in true Uniting style, over a cup of tea, each person talked with a member of our team to ensure they were comfortable telling their stories on camera. This nuanced casting laid the ground for real, raw and unscripted conversations that showed the depth of Uniting’s work.