In My Father's Church
A film by Charissa King-O'Brien

Charissa is a lesbian who wants a church wedding, but it doesn’t seem to help that her dad is the pastor of the town’s United Methodist Church. While he has been quietly supportive of his daughter’s lesbian relationship, Charissa’s father knows he would put his career at risk if he chose to officiate at her marriage ceremony. In 1999, the Methodist church took a firm stand by suspending a pastor for officiating a same sex union—and the clashes between clergy and gay couples have been making headlines ever since. Compelling and honest, IN MY FATHER'S CHURCH is a poignant exploration of the intersection of homosexuality and religion, from the perspective of someone who has much at stake. More

The Lost Tribe
A film by Rachel Landers

While ex-Mormon-lesbian-atheist Sue-Ann Post has carved out a name for herself as a stand-up comic in Australia, she has been estranged from her family ever since she decided to abandon her Mormon upbringing. When she publicly demanded to be excommunicated from the Mormon church on a national TV talk show, she got what she asked for—leaving her completely ostracized from her Mormon community. More

My Sister, My Bride
A film by Bonnie Burt

As the issue of gay marriage grips the country, this touching documentary follows the heartwarming and historic journey of two Jewish lesbians as they seek to celebrate their commitment to one another. Partners for five years, Farrell and Caren simply want to officially acknowledgment of their relationship like any other couple in love. Supported by their temple community in Nevada, the women put their own personal twist on a Jewish affirmation ceremony by creating their own: a B’rit Ahuvah. Two years later, when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom orders the County Clerk to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses, Farrell and Caren travel from Nevada with baby in tow to be married at San Francisco City Hall in a civil ceremony. More

The Noble Struggle
of Amina Wadud
A film by Elli Safari

On March 18, 2005, Amina Wadud shocked the Islamic world by leading a mixed-gender Friday prayer congregation in New York. THE NOBLE STRUGGLE OF AMINA WADUD is a fascinating and powerful portrait of this African-American Muslim woman who soon found herself the subject of much debate and Muslim juristic discourse. In defying 1400 years of Islamic tradition, her action caused global awareness of the struggle for women’s rights within Islam but also brought violence and death threats against her. More

Purity
A film by Anat Zuria, Produced by Amit Breuer

Israeli filmmaker Anat Zuria examines the Tharat Hamishpaha (family purity), the ancient laws and rituals shaping women’s lives and sexuality within Jewish Orthodoxy. Giving new insight into a guarded religious community, Zuria presents her own experiences adhering to Orthodox practices, as well as those of her friends Natalie, Katie and Shira. At the heart of their stories is the "nidda” - a ten to twelve day period restricting women from touching or engaging in sexual intimacy with their husbands, which culminates with a trip to the “mikve” (cleansing baths). More

	Fipa - Golden FiPA Award in Creative Documentary
	Jerusalem Int'l F F - Mayor Award for Best Doc

Sentenced to Marriage
A film by Anat Zuria, Produced by Amit Breuer

Nominated for a Silver Wolf at IDFA, this shocking documentary exposes the Kafkaesque process of divorce for women in Israel where secular law does not exist, and divorce is dealt with according to archaic and fundamentalist orthodox Jewish law. Filmmaker Anat Zuria, maker of the award-winning Purity, gained rare access to the rabbinical courts to follow two women caught in the demoralizing legal labyrinth. Though husbands can live with other women and even withhold child support, wives are forbidden contact with other men. In some cases, these very modern, independent and well-educated women are forced to buy a divorce from their husbands for huge sums. As a result, thousands of Jewish women have lived in limbo indefinitely, both in Israel and in other communities around the world. More

Best Doc, Spotlight on Israel, Hot Docs FF

The Sermons of Sister Jane
Believing the Unbelievable
A film by Allie Light, Irving Saraf and Carol Monpere

From Oscar and Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Allie Light and Irving Saraf (Dialogues With Madwomen and In The Shadow of The Stars), in partnership with Carol Monpere, also an Emmy Award-winner, comes their latest film, The Sermons Of Sister Jane: Believing the Unbelievable. This documentary is an engaging portrait that sparkles with the courage, wit and humanity of Sister Jane Kelly, who combines her deep spiritual faith with her equally powerful commitment towards resistance and change. More

	Booklist, Top 10 Religion Videos and DVDs: 2007
	Tiburon Int'l Film Festival, Best Documentary

They Call Me Muslim
A film by Diana Ferrero

In popular Western imagination, a Muslim woman in a veil – or hijab – is a symbol of Islamic oppression. But what does it mean for women’s freedom when a democratic country forbids the wearing of the veil? In this provocative documentary, filmmaker Diana Ferrero portrays the struggle of two women – one in France and one in Iran – to express themselves freely. More

	Bellaria Film Festival, Premio Avanti
	Sguardi Altrove Int'l F F, Concorso Italia

Women of Faith
Women of the Catholic Church Speak
A film by Rebecca M. Alvin



This absorbing documentary examines women’s decisions to lead religious lives in the Roman Catholic tradition in the post-feminist era. Throughout history, nuns were given certain advantages over other women, while still oppressed within their vocational pursuits. They were taught to read and write, encouraged to pursue music, literature, art, philosophy and spirituality, and officially allowed to escape marriage’s powerless role of wife. But why would a woman choose a nun’s life today? More