TREMBLING BEFORE G-D

Palm Beach Premiere
Thursday, Dec. 13, 7:50 pm
Israel/United States, 2000. Sandi Dubowski, Director.
English. 84 min.

This unprecedented documentary shatters assumptions about faith, sexuality and religious fundamentalism. Built around personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco and London, the film portrays people who face a profound dilemma--how to reconcile their passionate love of Judaism and G-d with the Biblical prohibition that forbids homosexuality. A range of complex individuals--the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi; closeted, married Hasidic gays and lesbians; Orthodox lesbian high-school sweethearts and lesbian and gay people abandoned by their families--demonstrate a loving and fearless testament to faith and an affirmation of the universal struggle to belong. Winner, Teddy Award ( Best Documentary) Berlin Int'l Film Festival, 2001. Winner, Mayor's Prize for Jewish Experience (Documentary), Jerusalem Int'l Film Festival, 2001.

Guest: Sandi Dubowski, Director.