Sometimes, it takes a documentary filmmaker a while to get to the essence of the story they are trying to tell.
In the case of SABBATH QUEEN, filmmaker Sandi DuBowski needed 21 years to really get a handle on his central character, Amichai Lau-Lavie, and Amichai’s journey from being the son of a Holocaust survivor and the nephew of the chief rabbi of Israel to his transformation into using his radical drag queen persona of Haddassah Gold, a Hungarian-accented widow in a blond wig— to ask the big questions: What does it mean to be a Jew? Where are the boundaries? What are the implications of turning from tradition?
Following up on his landmark 2001 documentary, TREMBLING BEFORE GOD, Sandi DuBowski has created a film where through Amichai’s journey, he asks the questions we all must face, regardless of our faith, Who we are. and who we will be.
As SABBATH QUEEN gets ready to open in Los Angeles following a successful run in New York— The NY Times Critics Pick, rave reviews, sold out shows— and in advance of its roll out to arthouses across the country, we welcome filmmaker Sandi DuBowski INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE for a conversation about his critically acclaimed film, and the role that it can play in healing a divided world.
