''Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School'' (2005) is a

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

by director Irena Fayngold.

Plot

''Hineini'' (Hebrew for 'Here I am') chronicles the story of Izen's attempt to establish a gay-straight alliance at a Jewish high school in the Boston. The student, Shulamit Izen, enters 9th grade at The New Jewish High School (now

Gann Academy Gann Academy is a coeducational Jewish high school located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1997 and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools and is accredited by the New England Association of Sch ...

) in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, ...

openly identifying as a lesbian. Set in an interview format, ''Hineini'' documents Izen, her family, teachers, and other students who both support her campaign and those who oppose it. Among themes examined in the documentary is the Jewish community wrestling with the issues of pluralism and diversity.

Impact

The film was listed in the 2006 issue of Slingshot, a resource guide of the "50 most innovative Jewish organizations and projects" in the United States. ''Hineini'', along with ''

Trembling Before G-d ''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 a ...

'' and '' Encounter Point'', are featured in the Films That Change the World Purim to Passover Project.

Reactions

"An engaging portrait of a pioneering teen activist...a terrific teaching tool. New Jew's take on religious pluralism is never less than fascinating as students and staffers hold forth, pro and con. Docu renders ancient concerns as vibrantly contemporary." - ''Variety'' " ineiniexamines how one community balanced its members’ profound and conflicting needs...Fayngold captures hetension... ndthe emotional stakes." -''The Boston Globe'' "...it's hard to resist the inspiring story of Shulamit Izen, a lesbian student who started a Gay-Straight Alliance at her private, religious New Jewish High School." - ''San Francisco Chronicle'' "Director Irena Fayngold retraced Izen's journey, which took place in 2001, for her film...When she met Izen, Fayngold realized 'this wasn't the story of one girl. It was the story of a community,' she said." "Poignant…Fayngold’s film reveals both the pathos and humor involved in the soul-searching that Izen and Gann Academy experience." -''Jewish Telegraph Agency'' "In the end it is perhaps eadmaster RabbiLehmann who articulates the film’s theme most precisely and most eloquently by noting that 'the core of our tradition is to bring together those conflicting opinions not in an attempt to somehow resolve them or create harmony, but to actually live in the tension of those differences.'"Stern, Adam.
New Film Peers Into the Teenage Jewish Closet.
" ''The Jewish Daily Forward.'' 11 Nov. 2005.

References

External links

Films That Change The World
*
Video Librarian: Review of Hineini, March-April 2009.
{dead link, date=November 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes 2005 films Documentary films about LGBT and Judaism LGBT in Massachusetts 2005 documentary films Documentary films about high school in the United States 2005 LGBT-related films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films

Plot

Impact

Reactions

See also

References

External links