Series: Pearls of Wisdom
Gay Gezunt! LGBTQ+ Spotlight Film + Reception
In-Person Only: March 30
Event: Filmmaker dessert reception
Filmed over 21 years, SABBATH QUEEN follows Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie’s epic journey as the dynastic heir of an unbroken line of 39 generations of Orthodox rabbis stretching back a thousand years. But now the Israeli-born Lau-Lavie is torn between accepting his ancestral destiny or becoming a drag queen rebel. The film opens in the 1990s, when Lau-Lavie arrives in New York, a young gay man performing as his drag persona, the “Rebbetzin Hadassah Gross.” It follows his creative spiritual path from queer dad to founding Lab/Shul—an everybody-friendly, G-d-optional, artist-driven, congregation—to his shocking decision to become a Conservative rabbi. Boasting incredible access, award-winning director Sandi DuBowski (TREMBLING BEFORE G-D) joins Rabbi Amichai on quest to creatively and radically reinvent religion and ritual while challenging gender norms in a rapidly changing 21st century.
Director Bio: View on IMDB
Guest: Director Sandi DuBowski
Sandi (Simcha) DuBowski turns movies into movements. He is the director/producer of TREMBLING BEFORE G-D (2001), producer of A JIHAD FOR LOVE (2007), and co-producer of BUDRUS (2009). His award-winning work has screened at the Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca, and Toronto International film festivals, and theatrically released in over 150 cities. In 2020, he was invited to be a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences.
Sponsors: Michelle and Alan Tesler
Community Sponsor: Congregation Tikvah Chadashah
Outreach Partner: Three Dollar Bill Cinema
