| rdfs:comment | - Trembling Before G-d was filmed with compact, inconspicuous consumer video equipment and eventually digitally transferred to 35 mm film. The footage was a mix of interviews shot in the subjects' homes and offices, sequences in the cinéma vérité style, and even material shot on a sound stage, using volunteer actors "performing" Jewish rituals in silhouette, behind a screen. The film is mostly in English, but also has some subtitled Yiddish and Hebrew.
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| abstract | - Trembling Before G-d was filmed with compact, inconspicuous consumer video equipment and eventually digitally transferred to 35 mm film. The footage was a mix of interviews shot in the subjects' homes and offices, sequences in the cinéma vérité style, and even material shot on a sound stage, using volunteer actors "performing" Jewish rituals in silhouette, behind a screen. 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. Many people who agreed to be interviewed are shown only in silhouette or with their faces pixelized. The majority of the participants are American Jews, with one British and one Israeli Jew also featured. Trembling Before G-d was successful at the box office, grossing over $5,500 on a single screen on its first day of release and $788,896 on eight screens by its close date on January 5, 2003. The film received ten award nominations, winning seven. Reception by the Orthodox communities was mixed. Several Orthodox synagogues sponsored showings of the film; No Haredi Orthodox groups spoke out in favor of the film. Traditionally, Orthodox Judaism has prohibited homosexual conduct, as it was forbidden by the Torah and Talmud (see Homosexuality and Judaism). In the last couple of decades, according to the documentary, positions on homosexuality have become more sympathetic. However, Haredi Judaism, the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, still views homosexuality as a perversion. As a result of the positive responses received from homosexual Orthodox Jews, however, the creators of the film have set up several organizations to teach Orthodox educators and rabbis about homosexuality.
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