Trembling Before G-d (2001)

Director:

Sandi Simcha Dubowski

Release Date:

6 December 2001 (Israel)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

The hidden lives of gay and lesbian Orthodox and Hasidic Jews.

Plot:

A cinematic portrait of various gay Orthodox Jews who struggle to reconcile their faith and their sexual orientation.

Plot Keywords:

Gay | Jew | Orthodox Jew | Love | Homosexuality

Awards:

8 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Shlomo Ashkinazy	...	Himself - Psychotherapist
Steve Greenberg	...	Himself (as Rabbi Steve Greenberg)
Nathan Lopes Cardozo	...	Himself (as Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo)
Naomi Mark	...	Herself - Psychotherapist
Shlomo Riskin	...	Himself (as Rabbi Shlomo Riskin)
Yaakov Meir Weil	...	Himself - Psychiatrist (as Dr. Yaakov Meir Weil)

Directed by
Sandi Simcha Dubowski

Produced by
Sandi Simcha Dubowski	....	producer
Philippa Kowarsky	....	co-producer
Marc Smolowitz	....	producer
James Velaise	....	co-producer

Original Music by
John Zorn

Cinematography by
David W. Leitner

Film Editing by
Susan Korda

Production Management
Lizzie Donahue	....	post-production supervisor

Art Department
Shlomo Ashkinazy	....	props
Pascal Willi	....	graphic designer (as Pascale Willi)

Sound Department
Thom 'Coach' Ehle	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Lora Hirschberg	....	sound re-recording mixer
Judy Karp	....	additional sound recordist
Claudia Katayanagi	....	additional sound recordist
Glenn Kiser	....	post-production sound
John Mardesich	....	post-production sound
Alex Noyes	....	assistant sound editor
Stephen P. Robinson	....	additional sound recordist (as Steve Robinson)
David Roche	....	additional sound recordist
Bill Seery	....	supervising sound editor
Peter Toole	....	additional sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Nily Aslan	....	additional cinematographer: Israel (as Nili Aslan)
Adam Bailey	....	additional camera
Robert Bennett	....	additional camera
Yael Bitton	....	camera assistant
Sandra Chandler	....	additional cinematographer: USA
Mik Cribben	....	additional cinematographer: USA
Jim Denault	....	additional director of photography: New York
Liz Dory	....	additional camera
Ken Druckerman	....	additional cinematographer: USA
Sandi Simcha Dubowski	....	additional cinematographer: USA, UK, Israel (as Sandi Dubowski)
Issa Freij	....	additional cinematographer: Israel
Kirsten Johnson	....	additional cinematographer: USA
Gerald Jones	....	additional camera
Kevin Keating	....	additional cinematographer: USA
Karen Kramer	....	additional cinematographer: USA
Jennifer Lane	....	additional cinematographer: USA
David W. Leitner	....	additional cinematographer: USA (as David Leitner)
Jack Louth	....	set photographer
Marcia Machado	....	additional camera
Jackie Matithau	....	additional cinematographer: Israel
Yoram Millo	....	additional cinematographer: Israel (as Yoram Milo)
Michael Pearlman	....	additional camera
Marie Pedersen	....	additional cinematographer: USA (as Marie Pederson)
Itzik Portal	....	additional cinematographer: Israel (as Yitzhak Portal)
Abigile Sperber	....	additional cinematographer: Israel (as Abigail Sperber)
Benjamin P. Speth	....	additional cinematographer: USA (as Ben Speth)
Amy Steiner	....	set photographer
Chloe Steward	....	additional camera (as Chloe Stewart)
Shiri Vilk	....	additional camera (as Shiri Wilk)
Maggie Warwick	....	additional camera
Fawn Yacker	....	additional cinematographer: USA
Andrew Yarme	....	additional cinematographer: USA
Chris Carr	....	camera operator: documentary segment (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Shlomo Ashkinazy	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
David Baum	....	assistant editor
David Beatrice	....	post-production assistant
Johathan Berman	....	post-production assistant
Yael Bitton	....	assistant editor
Ron Demartin	....	post-production assistant
Lizzie Donahue	....	assistant editor
David Ebmeier	....	post-production assistant
Akiko Iwakawa-Grieve	....	assistant editor (as Akiko Iwakawa)
John Johnson	....	post-production assistant
Egon Kirincic	....	on-line editor
Monte Matteotti	....	post-production assistant
Johanna Prenner	....	commissioning editor
Jill Silverman	....	post-production assistant
Julisa Sorvino-Castro	....	post-production assistant
Aljernon Tunsil	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Carol Sue Baker	....	music supervisor (as Carole Sue Baker)
Jon L. Fine	....	music supervisor
Frank London	....	music consultant
Lorin Sklamberg	....	music consultant

Other crew
Benton Bainbridge	....	tape-to-film transfer
Lynn Bernard	....	transcriber
Sagheer Bin Faiz	....	production assistant
Alexander Bing	....	production assistant (as Alex Bing)
Yael Bitton	....	production coordinator
Suzanne Bultmeyer	....	production assistant
Andrew Capelli	....	title designer
Elaine Chapnik	....	transcriber
Ari Chesir	....	production assistant
Maya O. Cohen	....	production assistant (as Maya Cohen)
Eugene Corey	....	transcriber
Erin Edmison	....	production assistant
Thomas Edmon	....	tape-to-film transfer (as Tom Edmon)
Dana Friedman	....	technology consultant
Alexander Georges	....	production assistant
Caroline Ghienne	....	production assistant (as Caroline Ghiennes)
Steve Goldstein	....	production assistant
John Grauwiler	....	production assistant
Yaffa Grinblatt	....	production assistant
Malachi Handler	....	production assistant
David Harris	....	production assistant
Avram Heilman	....	production assistant
Lawrence Inglee	....	production assistant
Nurit Jacobs	....	production assistant
Susan Korda	....	creative collaborator
Claudia Cala Levin	....	archival researcher: Israel
Avital Levy	....	production assistant
Robert Luttrell	....	tape-to-film transfer
Tara Mateik	....	production assistant
Astrid Menze	....	production assistant
Ileana Montalvo	....	transcriber
Saul Nachshen	....	production assistant (as Saul Nachsen)
Yigal Nizri	....	production assistant
Pat O'Brien	....	additional legal services
Eugene Patron	....	production assistant
Nathalie Petersen	....	production assistant
Sharon Roling	....	production coordinator
Janelle Rothenberg	....	production assistant
Dan Schmeltzer	....	production assistant
Kris Schumacher	....	tape-to-film transfer
Sara Scully	....	production assistant
Robert L. Seigel	....	production counsel
Michal Shemesh	....	transcriber
Nike Silberstein	....	production assistant
Eric Solstein	....	tape-to-film transfer
Alexandra Stoll	....	lead transcriber
Kelly Stupple	....	production assistant
Heather Tenzer	....	production assistant
Pieter Valk	....	production assistant
Daniel Wagner	....	production assistant
Micha Wald	....	production assistant
David Boone Wilson	....	production assistant (as David Wilson)
Owen Wolf	....	production assistant
Danny Wool	....	production coordinator

Thanks
Mindy Affrime	....	special thanks
Jonathan Berman	....	thanks
Lynda Hansen	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Cinephil
• Keshet Broadcasting
• Pretty Pictures
• Simcha Leib Productions
• Turbulent Arts

Distributors

• Mongrel Media (Canada)
• New Yorker Films (USA)

Other Companies

• Skywalker Sound  post-production sound services

Also Known As:

Runtime:

Germany:80 min | Germany:94 min | UK:84 min

Country:

Israel | France | USA

Language:

English | Yiddish | Hebrew

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Cinephil

Trivia:

The spelling of the last word in this movie's title comes from the Jewish tradition of treating any written representation of the name of God with respect, and not writing it on any document that might be treated carelessly or accidentally or deliberately defaced, destroyed, or erased (a longstanding Rabbinical interpretation of Deuteronomy 12:3). Since this movie, like most, had posters, sales materials, contractual paperwork, DVD covers, and other ephemera with its title on them go out into public hands, the filmmakers used the G-d spelling out of respect and recognition that there was no way to know how the documents on which the name would be treated outside or their presences.

Quotes:

Rabbie Meir Fund:...so the Jew who is gay by choice... work like mad to overcome it... a Jew who is, as we might say, wall-to-wall gay... I will hold his hand, figuratively... and do the best I can to give him strength to serve G-d.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: Trembling Before G-d/Midori (#4.25)" (2002)

As a gay Catholic, I can identify ...

As a gay Catholic, who has embraced celibacy to conform to the teachings of the Church, I can wholeheartedly identify with the efforts of the Orthodox Jewish lesbians and gays in this film to reconcile their spirituality and sexuality, and to find acceptance in the eyes of God and their community. It is heartwrenching especially to see the havoc that this struggle has wreaked in the life of Israel Fishman. On the surface, he responds with bravado, rejecting the people and the faith that have rejected him. Yet, in one of the film's most powerful scenes, he vents his sorrow and bitterness, anger and rage, at what being gay has cost him, especially the love of his father.

The documentary is perhaps not slick and elegant in terms of production values. The constant subtitles, interpreting Hebrew and Yiddish terms for the Gentile viewer, are sometimes intrusive and annoying (especially if the viewer is at all conversant with the Jewish faith). It would have been useful, though, to explain that "Ha-Shem" means "the Name", i.e., God's name which may never be pronounced.

What it most interesting about this documentary, I think, is that it shows how the main problem may not so much be finding acceptance of onself as lesbian or gay, but rather finding acceptance of oneself as a spiritual person in a secular world.

Finally, although the film clearly documents the trials and difficulties of being a lesbian or gay Orthodox Jew, the joy of loving and being loved by G-d comes shining through. The lesbians and gays in this film suffer much at the hands of their families and rabbis, their synagogues and yeshivas -- but never, it seems, do they question that they are loved and accepted by G-d.