Trembling Before G-d

Trembling Before G-d
DVD cover
Directed by	Sandi Simcha DuBowski
Produced by	Sandi Simcha DuBowski Marc Smolowitz
Starring	Shlomo Ashkinazy Rabbi Steven Greenberg
Cinematography	David W. Leitner
Edited by	Susan Korda
Music by	John Zorn
Production company	Cinephil
Distributed by	New Yorker Films
Release date	2001 (2001)
Running time	84 minutes
Countries	Israel France United States
Languages	English Yiddish Hebrew
Box office	$788,896

Trembling Before G-d is a 2001 American documentary film about gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews trying to reconcile their sexuality with their faith. It was directed by Sandi Simcha DuBowski, an American who wanted to compare Orthodox Jewish attitudes to homosexuality with his own upbringing as a gay Conservative Jew.

The film received ten award nominations, winning seven, including Best Documentary awards at the 2001 Berlin and Chicago film festivals. However, some criticized the film as showing a one-sided view of Orthodox Judaism's response to homosexuality. These include South African Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein as well as Agudah spokesperson Avi Shafran.

The film is mostly in English, but also has some subtitled Yiddish and Hebrew. The film follows the lives of several gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews and includes interviews with rabbis and psychotherapists about Orthodox attitudes towards homosexuality. During the film's six-year production, DuBowski met hundreds of homosexual Jews, but only a handful agreed to be filmed due to fear of being ostracized from their communities.^[1] Many people who agreed to be interviewed are shown only in silhouette or with their faces pixelized.^[2] The majority of the participants are American Jews, with one British and one Israeli Jew also featured. The film was successful at the box office, grossing over $788,896 on eight screens by its close date.^[3]