November 17, 2024
FILM: ALL GOD’S CHILDREN
DIRECTED BY: ONDI TIMONER
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Let me say first that I am not a religiously-affiliated person. So, when I heard about the new documentary All God’s Children I was a bit reluctant to see it assuming I wasn’t part of the audience for it. Well, the opposite turned out to be true. For this is a film about understanding and coming together with those that are different from us, except for one unifying factor: love.
Filmmaker Ondi Timoner has created a powerful and highly enlightening film about two religious groups coming together for the common good. Both are from Brooklyn. Rabbi Rachel Timoner (the director’s sister) is from the Congregation Beth Elohim and Reverend Dr. Robert Waterman is from the Antioch Baptist Church. They have good reason to join forces for peace: the Black community fears whites are going to take over their neighborhoods while the Jewish residents fear for their safety due to the number of violent attacks that have occurred against their people. Some of the latter has been seemingly committed by members of the Black community. What these two sides try to understand is how racism and anti-Semitism become intertwined with one leading to the other. The goal becomes to create an understanding of each other’s perspectives.
What is first most interesting is how they attempt to explain their differences. They even dive into the diversity that exists within their own respective groups. The rabbi, for instance, insists that Jews for Jesus are not true Jews because they believe that He is the savior. The pastor and his group discuss how Jews are viewed as privileged white people while the rabbi points out that the Jewish population has been attacked and killed by white communities for thousands of years. Blacks are part of the more dominant Christianity yet have also been enslaved and not afforded some of the opportunities that anyone considered white would have.
It is these types of spirited debates that make the film a highly intellectual coming together of not only different faiths but also philosophies. While we see the association between these two groups evolve, one particularly tense situation erupts when the Blacks are invited to a Jewish Passover Seder and then days later Blacks invite them to their Resurrection Day services. This leads to some very uncomfortable moments for the rabbi and her followers as they are forced to endure a recreation of the crucifixion. They share their feelings about what they experience that week, leading to some anger that could potentially break apart the bond they’ve created.
This could have been the end of the film but then the October 7th 2023 Hamas attack on Israel happened and Jewish communities everywhere were back under attack for Israel’s explosive response. It becomes clear watching the film that both sides begin to understand that they need to continue coming together as they’ve both historically experienced cultural traumas and still do. This makes the film highly relevant to the various divides we see in the world today. At home, there is continued anti-Semitism and racial inequalities that have gotten more intense in the last several years.
The film is a model for how different groups might be able to exchange dialogues and have civil discussions which could lead to a better understanding of each other. I know I learned a lot about both of these groups, including their traditions and fears. It would be great to see other groups come together for similar spirited debates such as those found here.
Ondi Timoner made one of my favorite documentaries of the last decade two years ago with Last Flight Home which also featured her sister Rabbi Rachel Timoner. That film dealt with end-of-life issues as their ailing father makes a decision to end his life. Both works beg viewers to be open to differing points of view and to show respect for some wide-ranging moral and philosophical perspectives. Ultimately I think finding the common ground is a key goal of both films.
All God’s Children had its World Premiere Thursday at DOC NYC. It is available to be viewed on the festival’s streaming site through December 1st. For more details and to purchase tickets go to https://www.docnyc.net/film/all-gods-children/.
FILM: ALL GOD’S CHILDREN
DIRECTED BY: ONDI TIMONER
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Let me say first that I am not a religiously-affiliated person. So, when I heard about the new documentary All God’s Children I was a bit reluctant to see it assuming I wasn’t part of the audience for it. Well, the opposite turned out to be true. For this is a film about understanding and coming together with those that are different from us, except for one unifying factor: love.
Filmmaker Ondi Timoner has created a powerful and highly enlightening film about two religious groups coming together for the common good. Both are from Brooklyn. Rabbi Rachel Timoner (the director’s sister) is from the Congregation Beth Elohim and Reverend Dr. Robert Waterman is from the Antioch Baptist Church. They have good reason to join forces for peace: the Black community fears whites are going to take over their neighborhoods while the Jewish residents fear for their safety due to the number of violent attacks that have occurred against their people. Some of the latter has been seemingly committed by members of the Black community. What these two sides try to understand is how racism and anti-Semitism become intertwined with one leading to the other. The goal becomes to create an understanding of each other’s perspectives.
What is first most interesting is how they attempt to explain their differences. They even dive into the diversity that exists within their own respective groups. The rabbi, for instance, insists that Jews for Jesus are not true Jews because they believe that He is the savior. The pastor and his group discuss how Jews are viewed as privileged white people while the rabbi points out that the Jewish population has been attacked and killed by white communities for thousands of years. Blacks are part of the more dominant Christianity yet have also been enslaved and not afforded some of the opportunities that anyone considered white would have.
It is these types of spirited debates that make the film a highly intellectual coming together of not only different faiths but also philosophies. While we see the association between these two groups evolve, one particularly tense situation erupts when the Blacks are invited to a Jewish Passover Seder and then days later Blacks invite them to their Resurrection Day services. This leads to some very uncomfortable moments for the rabbi and her followers as they are forced to endure a recreation of the crucifixion. They share their feelings about what they experience that week, leading to some anger that could potentially break apart the bond they’ve created.
This could have been the end of the film but then the October 7th 2023 Hamas attack on Israel happened and Jewish communities everywhere were back under attack for Israel’s explosive response. It becomes clear watching the film that both sides begin to understand that they need to continue coming together as they’ve both historically experienced cultural traumas and still do. This makes the film highly relevant to the various divides we see in the world today. At home, there is continued anti-Semitism and racial inequalities that have gotten more intense in the last several years.
The film is a model for how different groups might be able to exchange dialogues and have civil discussions which could lead to a better understanding of each other. I know I learned a lot about both of these groups, including their traditions and fears. It would be great to see other groups come together for similar spirited debates such as those found here.
Ondi Timoner made one of my favorite documentaries of the last decade two years ago with Last Flight Home which also featured her sister Rabbi Rachel Timoner. That film dealt with end-of-life issues as their ailing father makes a decision to end his life. Both works beg viewers to be open to differing points of view and to show respect for some wide-ranging moral and philosophical perspectives. Ultimately I think finding the common ground is a key goal of both films.
All God’s Children had its World Premiere Thursday at DOC NYC. It is available to be viewed on the festival’s streaming site through December 1st. For more details and to purchase tickets go to https://www.docnyc.net/film/all-gods-children/.