Premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival
WATCH THE FILM NOW ON POV/PBS:
About the Film
Inspired by the lawsuits filed in Florida challenging the state's abortion ban on the basis of religious freedom, Under G-d is a documentary short film about the national Jewish response to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization U.S. Supreme Court decision woven through the lived experiences of impacted Jewish women and the various lawsuits currently being launched by rabbis, Jewish organizations and interfaith leaders to challenge the overturning of Roe v. Wade, state by state. Through the lens of maintaining the separation between church and state, these nationwide efforts are predicated on ultimately protecting religious freedom – and democracy – for all.
Under G-d weaves together the stories of a Jewish mother and activist in Indiana, a rabbi in Florida and lawyers throughout the country who are seeking to fight abortion bans in part by placing them in the legal and cultural context of religious freedom. In an ironic twist, the very laws that might support this work are the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRAs), which have thus far been used to allow faith believers to make an end-run around civil rights protections, as in the notorious Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. or gay wedding cake cases at the U.S. Supreme Court. Under G-d introduces us to characters that are now flipping the very script used so effectively by Christian nationalists.
In taking on these public protests and cases, Jewish leaders around the country are asking the United States to protect women, and protect democracy, by preserving the constitutionally enshrined separation of church and state.
Screenings
January 22-23 26 & 28, 2023 - Sundance Film Festival - Utah
May 27-28, 2023 - Mountainfilm Film Festival - Colorado
June 10, 2023 - Lighthouse International Film Festival - New Jersey
June 16, 2023 - DC/DOX Film Festival - Washington, D.C.
June 26, 2023 - Palm Springs ShortFest - California
July 21-27, 2023 - DCTV Firehouse Cinema - New York
August 3, 2023 - San Francisco Jewish Film Festival - California
August 27, 2023 - Sidewalk Film Festival - Alabama
September 11, 2023 - Jewish Theological Seminary - New York
September 23, 2023 - SVA Alumni Film Festival - New York
October 6, 2023 - Louisville's International Festival of Film - Kentucky
October 7, 2023 – Hamptons International Film Festival - New York
October 11, 2023 - Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival - Arkansas
October 12, 2023 - Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo - Ohio
October 13, 2023 - Loft Film Fest - Arizona
October 15, 2023 - New Haven Documentary Film Festival - Connecticut
October 16, 2023 - National Council of Jewish Women - New York
October 26, 2023 - DCTV Firehouse Cinema - New York
November 5, 2023 - SFFILM Doc Stories - California
November 9, 2023 - Emory University’s Tam Institute for Jewish Studies - Georgia
November 10-11, 2023 - Denver Film Festival - Colorado
November 12, 2023 - Teaneck Film Festival - New Jersey
November 30, 2023 - Essex National Council of Jewish Women - New Jersey
December 2, 2023 - Wabash College - Indiana
December 9, 2023 - Emory University Tam School for Jewish Studies - Georgia
January 30, 2024 - Indiana University School of Medicine OB/GYN Student Interest Group - Indiana
February 4, 2024 - Greater Houston chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State - Texas
February 9, 2024 - Temple Beth El - North Carolina
February 10, 2024 - Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center - New York
February 10, 2024 - Congregation Kol Ami - New York
February 10, 2024 - Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center - New York
March 10, 2024 - Brooklyn Heights Synagogue - New York
March 10, 2024 - West Wind Unitarian Universalist Congregation - Oklahoma
March 21, 2024 - WV FREE - West Virginia
March 23, 2024 - Greater Houston chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State - Texas
March 27, 2024 - Greater Houston chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State - Texas
March 27, 2024 - The Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality - Tennessee
April 7, 2024 - Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge - Louisiana
April 7, 2024 - UU Fellowship of Bozeman - Montana
April 8, 2024 - NYU Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life - New York
May 5, 2024 - Lake Country Unitarian Universalist Church - Wisconsin
May 5, 2024 - RISE: Healthy for Life - Tennessee
June 6, 2024 - Temple Adas Israel - New York
June 17, 2024 - Northaven Methodist Church - Texas
June 18, 2024 - St. Philip Presbyterian Church - Texas
June 20, 2024 - Idaho Interfaith Organizing for Reproductive Justice - Idaho
June 21, 2024 - Hebrew Tabernacle - New York
June 23, 2024 - Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice - Kentucky
June 25, 2024 - Zioness - New York
June 26, 2024 - National Council of Jewish Women Minnesota - Minnesota
July 25, 2024 - National Council of Jewish Women Massachusetts - Massachusetts
Awards
2023 - PBS Short Film Festival Jury Award
2023 - Palm Springs Shortfest Local Jury Award
2023 - Vimeo Staff Pick
Filmmakers
PAULA EISELT
Director and Producer
DARCY MCKINNON
Producer
RAHDI TAYLOR
Executive Producer
Edited by:
INES VOGELFANG
Supervising Editor
SUNITA PRASAD
Cinematographer
JENNI MORELLO
Music by:
LAURA KARPMAN and NORA KROLL-ROSENBAUM
Executive Producers
JULIE PARKER BENELLO, MICHELLE MERCER, BRUCE GOLDEN, ZOE MERCER GOLDEN, DAVIS GUGGENHEIM, RUTH ANN HARNISCH
Executive Producers for Inmaat Foundation
REBECCA LICHTENFELD and CHANDRA JESSE
Co-Executive Producer
NANCY BLACHMAN
Contributing Producers
LISA KLEINER CHANOFF, MEGAN GELSTEIN
In Association with
THE HARNISCH FOUNDATION
With support from
CONCORDIA STUDIO, SUNDANCE DOCUMENTARY FUND, JEWISH STORY PARTNERS, CATAPULT FILM FUND, SECRET SAUCE, THE HARNISCH FOUNDATION and the InMaat Foundation
Press Highlights
