Trembling Before G-d (2001)

Directed by

Sandi Simcha DuBowski

Genre

documentary film, LGBTQ-related film

Country

France, Israel, United States

Runtime

1h 24m

Rating

5.4 of 10 from 17 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

The documentary follows gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews who struggle to reconcile their sexual orientation with their religious faith. It includes interviews with rabbis and therapists, and many subjects appear in silhouette or with faces obscured to protect their identities.

contemplativeintimatesoberinterviews-drivenpersonalrestrainedreflectivepoignant

What happens

Trembling Before G-d is a 2001 American documentary film about gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews trying to reconcile their sexuality with their faith. It was directed by Sandi Simcha DuBowski, an American who wanted to compare Orthodox Jewish attitudes to homosexuality with his own upbringing as a gay Conservative Jew. The film received ten award nominations, winning seven, including Best Documentary awards at the 2001 Berlin and Chicago film festivals. However, some criticized the film as showing a one-sided view of Orthodox Judaism's response to homosexuality. These include South African Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein as well as Agudah spokesperson Avi Shafran. The film is mostly in English, but also has some subtitled Yiddish and Hebrew. The film follows the lives of several gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews and includes interviews with rabbis and psychotherapists about Orthodox attitudes towards homosexuality. During the film's six-year production, DuBowski met hundreds of homosexual Jews, but only a handful agreed to be filmed due to fear of being ostracized from their communities. Many people who agreed to be interviewed are shown only in silhouette or with their faces pixelized. Most participants are American Jews, with one British and one Israeli Jew also featured. The film was successful at the box office, grossing over $788,896 on eight screens by its close date. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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