[Reader-list] Trembling Before G-d Screening/ IHC Feb 9

[mayur at sarai.net]

Screening of 'Trembling Before G-d',
February 9th, 21:30pm
Stein Auditorium. India Habitat Centre

World Premiere, Sundance Film Festival
Teddy Award for Best Documentary, Berlin Film Festival
Screened at over 300 festivals worldwide
Broadcast on BBC, Sundance Channel, ZDF/ARTE, HBO-LA

Trembling Before G-d is an unprecedented feature documentary that shatters
assumptions about faith, sexuality, and religious fundamentalism. Built
around intimately-told personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are
gay or lesbian, the film portrays a group of people who face a profound
dilemma - how to reconcile their passionate love of Judaism and the Divine
with the drastic Biblical prohibitions that forbid homosexuality. As the
film unfolds, we meet a range of complex individuals - some hidden, some
out - from the world's first openly gay Orthodox rabbi to closeted, married
Hasidic gays and lesbians to those abandoned by religious families to
Orthodox lesbian high-school sweethearts.

Many have been tragically rejected and their pain is raw, yet with irony,
humor, and resilience, they love, care, struggle, and debate with a
thousands-year old tradition. Ultimately, they are forced to question how
they can pursue truth and faith in their lives. Vividly shot with a
courageous few over five years in Brooklyn, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, London,
Miami, and San Francisco, Trembling Before G-d is an international project
with global implications that strikes at the meaning of religious identity
and tradition in a modern world. For the first time, this issue has become a
live, public debate in Orthodox circles, and the film is both witness and
catalyst to this historic moment. What emerges is a loving and fearless
testament to faith and survival and the universal struggle to belong.
"Provocative...powerful...An unforgettable picture" - Elvis Mitchell, New
York Times

"Exquisite piece of non-judgmental filmmaking, the film has caused a
stir...compellingly humanistic viewing...One of the most engaging aspects
is, in the end, the universality of the topic." A. Pasolini, Time Out London

It's really about the challenges faced by so many of us - Jews and non-Jews,
gays and straights -  as we struggle to fit together, piece by piece, a
whole range of beliefs and allegiances. Trembling is a brave and important
document."
- Adina Hoffman, The Jerusalem Post

"Sublime, moving, and hopeful" - Paul Malcolm, Los Angeles Weekly

"A remarkable film, for thoughtful people of all beliefs.one of the best and
bravest.extraordinary."

- Ray Conlogue, Canada Globe and Mail

Visit http://www.tremblingbeforeg-d.com/ for more info.

DuBowski is Producer of a new feature documentary directed by Parvez Sharma,
the world's first about Islam and homosexuality, produced in association
with Channel 4(UK), ZDF/ Arte (Germany/ France)and LogoLens (US). Mr.
DuBowski and Mr. Sharma will be present at the screening.