Sabbath Queen CLOSE UP w/ dir. Sandi Dubowski
This epic documentary, shot over the span of 21 years, follows Amichai Lau-Lavie, an Israeli descended from an unbroken line of thirty-eight rabbis stretching back a thousand years. Yet as the film opens, Lau-Lavie is newly arrived in New York in the late 1990s, a young gay man declaring “Artists are the new rabbis” and appearing around the city in drag. Lau-Lavie soon embraces a range of creative spiritual endeavors, including his Lab/Shul congregation—until he shocks everyone with his decision to become a rabbi in the Conservative tradition of Judaism. Stimulating and moving, the film ends with Lau-Lavie’s words on Israel and Palestine post-October 7th. (dir. Sandi Dubowski, U.S., 2024, 105 min.)
“Overwhelmingly ambitious in its time-spanning, as searching and curious as its primary subject.” — Indiewire
Sandi DuBowski is the director and producer of Sabbath Queen SABBATH QUEEN, director/producer of Trembling Before G-d, producer of A Jihad For Love, and oo-producer of Budrus. DuBowski spearheaded a groundbreaking, tireless impact campaign with the award-winning Trembling Before G-d, personally conducting 850 live events, for over 250,000 people. From 2009-2016, DuBowski worked with as the outreach director of Doc Society’s Good Pitch. He is Co-Founder of The Creative Resistance, a collective of media makers who create award-winning political ads and design. Three generations of DuBowski’s family made chocolate syrup in Brooklyn.
Lacey Schwartz Delgado (moderator) is an American filmmaker and the second lady of New York. Schwartz is known for her 2015 documentary Little White Liewhich tells the story of her discovery of her true racial identity. Schwartz has worked as a managing director at Truth Aid and as a director of outreach at Be’chol Lashon.
