Plot

OUT OF FAITH, a feature-length documentary, follows three generations of a family being torn apart by conflicts over interfaith marriage. The family's matriarch, Leah Welbel, and her husband Eliezer, both survived over two and a half years in Auschwitz; however, in their minds, their grandchildren marrying non-Jews represents a posthumous victory for Hitler. As filming for OUT OF FAITH commences, Leah and her first grandchild to "marry out," Danny, have not spoken for six years. When her second grandchild, Cheryl, marries a Christian, Leah takes a different approach: she showers her with love and attention, hoping that by keeping the lines of communication open she will be able to convince Cheryl's husband, Matt, to convert to Judaism. Cheryl resists: "I would like a Jewish family, but I'm certainly not going to impose on Matt and push all these things on him, because that's the worst thing you can do in a relationship. Because I know if he said to me, 'Cheryl, I want you to convert to Christianity,' I'd say 'take a hike!'" OUT OF FAITH follows the Welbel family for three years as they try to resolve these issues. The pressure mounts on Cheryl as people tell her that interfaith marriage is decimating the Jewish population; and pressure mounts on Leah as her grandson's wife is about to have a baby - Leah's first great-grandchild. Will Leah and Danny reconcile? Can Leah continue to engage Cheryl without giving in to her belief that by doing so she is "betraying her family" murdered in the Holocaust? An unexpected family event changes everything. OUT OF FAITH examines the complex and emotionally charged issues surrounding assimilation and interfaith marriage. It captures the intimate details of one family's attempt to persevere in the face of a heart wrenching intrafamilial conflict; a conflict that impacts countless families in multicultural societies that have intense pressures to assimilate. Anyone who has ever struggled to remain loyal to a cultural identity in the face of great societal pressure to assimilate will undoubtedly relate.—L. Mark DeAngelis

Out of Faith, a feature-length documentary, follows three generations of the Welbel family as they are pulled apart by interfaith marriage. Grandparents Leah and Lazer are Auschwitz survivors; when the film begins, Leah and her grandson Dannny have not spoken in six years, because he married someone not Jewish. Then Leah's second grandchild, Cheryl, marries out of faith. Pressure mounts on Cheryl as people describe how interfaith marriage impacts the Jewish population; pressure mounts on Leah as her grandson's wife is about to have a baby. An unexpected event changes everything. Will Leah and Danny reconcile? We see the family as they struggle with complex and emotionally charged conflicts over intermarriage, familial duty, ethnic identity, and cultural continuity and survival. The film raises universal questions of how to honor the past and one's own 'tribe' while living in today's multicultural society.—Lisa Leeman