POLISH PREMIERE AND MEETING WITH SPECIAL GUESTS FROM SABBATH QUEEN FILM! 21 years in the making, Sandi DuBowski's epic documentary Sabbath Queen follows Amichai Lau-Lavie’s journey from radical drag queen to influential Rabbi of a God-optional, artist-driven New York synagogue.

Only life can write such scenarios. Amichai Lau-Lavie is the heir to 38 generations of Orthodox rabbis, including Chief Rabbis of Israel. At the same time, he became a queer rebel and the founder of Lab/Shul - an artistic and religious community open to everyone, which does not require belief in God.

The film, covering 21 years of Lau-Lavie's life, tracks his spiritual search and transformation - from the radical challenge to traditional Judaism, to achieving the status of a respected community leader. Stigmatized as gay in his youth, he created a queer alter ego - the character of Hadassah Gross. Born in the 1920s into a Hasidic family, she was a Hungarian widow of six rabbis who eagerly shared her non-Orthodox approach to Judaism and patriarchy with the public. "Dear children," Hadassah used to say, "redemption is possible only through transgression". Nevertheless, years later, Amichai Lau-Lavie graduated from the prestigious rabbinical school, the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. As if all that weren't enough, he is also an activist for reconciliation with Palestinians and... the biological father of three children being raised by a lesbian couple who are his friends. Amichai Lau-Lavie will be the guest of honour at the festival's closing ceremony. Hadassah Gross has not yet confirmed her arrival.

Following the screening, a meeting with the director Sandi DuBowski and the film's protagonist Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, will be led by Miriam Synger @jestem_zydowka.

SANDI DUBOWSKI is the Director/Producer of SABBATH QUEEN, Director/Producer of TREMBLING BEFORE G-D, Producer of A JIHAD FOR LOVE, and Co-Producer of BUDRUS. His award-winning work has screened at Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca and Toronto, theatrically released in 150 cities, and broadcast on ZDF/Arte, BBC, Channel 4, PBS. In 2020, he was invited to become a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. DuBowski spearheaded a groundbreaking impact campaign with the award-winning TREMBLING BEFORE G-D, personally conducting 850 live events, for over 250,000 people, which changed the lives of countless individuals, their families, religious leaders, and communities around the world. Feature stories on the project appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NPR, The Globe and Mail, and BBC News. From 2009-2016, DuBowski worked with over 125 of the world’s best social justice documentaries 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. In the mid-1990’s he began his media and activism work at Planned Parenthood Federation of America focused on the Christian right and the anti-abortion movement. Three generations of DuBowski’s family made chocolate syrup in Deep Coastal Brooklyn.

Join us and meet the director Sandi DuBowski at Warsaw Jewish Film Festival Awards Gala 2025!

Before the screening AWARD CEREMONY - DAVID'S CAMERA 2025! After the film Q&A with Sandi DuBowski and Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie will be led by Miriam Synger @jestem_zydowka.

Tribeca IFF (World Premiere), IDFA, Zurich FF, San Francisco Jewish FF, LA Jewish FF, Cleveland IFF, Hamptons IFFl, Salem FF, Nashville FF, Woodstock FF

09-11-2025 19:00, Muzeum POLIN

Language: english, hebrew, yiddish   Subtitles: polish, English