Faith and Sexuality

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June 12, 2008

FAITH AND SEXUALITY ON FILM AND IN PERSON
JCC East Bay
7:30pm
Film
Tickets: Free for JCC Members; $8.00 for general or $15 for the 3 Film Pass
Info & tickets: www.jcceastbay.org

faithnsexu
Still image from Trembling Before G-d

The JCC East Bay presents a series of films that explore the intersections between faith and sexual orientation. Each screening will be followed by a discussion featuring a panel of distinguished speakers from a range of faiths and backgrounds, including lay leaders and clergy. All shows will take place at the JCC East Bay facility at 1414 Walnut St. in North Berkeley.

Thursday June 12, 7:30pm
TREMBLING BEFORE G-D
United States/France/Israel, 2001, 84 minutes
English/Yiddish/Hebrew (English Subtitles)
Directed by
Sandi Simcha Dubowski

Winner of the Best Documentary prize at the Berlin Film Festival, Trembling Before G-d shatters assumptions about faith, sexuality, and religious fundamentalism. Built around intimately-told personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are gay or lesbian, the film portrays a group of people who face a profound dilemma—how to reconcile their passionate love of Judaism and the Divine with the drastic Biblical prohibitions that forbid homosexuality.

Tuesday July 22, 7:30pm
For the Bible Tells Me So
United States, 2001, 84 minutes
English/Yiddish/Hebrew (English Subtitles)
Directed by Daniel Karslake

Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the Bible an excuse to hate? Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families—including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson—For the Bible Tells Me So offers clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity.

Thursday September 18, 7:30pm
Jihad for Love
USA/UK/France/Germany/Australia, 2007, 81 minutes
English/ Arabic/Hindi/Persian/Urdu/French (English Subtitles)
Directed by Parvez Sharma

Islam is today the world’s second largest and fastest growing religion. Filmmaker Parvez Sharma travels the many worlds of this dynamic faith, discovering the stories of its most unlikely storytellers: lesbian and gay Muslims. Filmed over five years, in twelve countries and nine languages, A Jihad for Love is the first feature documentary to explore the complex global intersections between Islam and homosexuality.