Our mission at Cistern Films is to be a wellspring of ideas and stories that reflect, inspire, and empower communities through film and educational opportunities.  Ancient cisterns of the past had many uses: holding water, crude prison cells, burial grounds, hiding places for fugitives and underground chambers for religious and political gatherings.  We believe that documentary films can serve our communities with a similar multitude of purposes.

“Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive” writes Barry Lopez. At Cistern Films we believe that stories can be life-giving and transforming.  Our aim is to create films that serve as gathering places for conversations on important social, environmental and political issues facing us today.

Our story

Sister and brother team Brittany and Reuben Browning are following their dream to create films together, telling stories about topics and communities that may be overlooked or issues that deserve attention. Holy Fire was their debut 2020 film, set in Jerusalem, where they have both spent significant years of their lives.

Reuben is a commercial, documentary, and film editor and producer. A graduate of Northwestern University’s Radio/TV/Film department, he has worked for a variety of commercial post-production facilities in Illinois, California, and Indiana, and most recently relocated to Oklahoma. He has extensive experience producing documentary films for PBS, including being the series editor for the national series Independent Lens.  He currently works as a freelance commercial producer and editor.

Brittany spent most of her adult life in Jerusalem and recently moved to the Boston area.   She  worked for many years as a secondary school counselor, and is exploring opportunities in filmmaking and social work.    She holds advanced degrees in education and social work, and completed a documentary filmmaking course with Opencity Docs at University College London.