Treyf

Treyf

feminist, lesbian, Jewish, experimental documentary, family, Israel, Zionism, Judaism, queer, New York

1998

Distributed by Women Make Movies

TREYF —“unkosher” in Yiddish— is an unorthodox documentary by and about two Jewish lesbians who met and fell in love at a Passover “seder”. With personal narration, real and imagined educational films, and haunting imagery, filmmakers Alisa Lebow and Cynthia Madansky examine the Jewish identity of their upbringings and its impact on their lives. Incisive cultural critics, astute, poignant, and poetic—never cynical—they weave their way from New York to Jerusalem in pursuit of a progressive, secular Jewish identity that draws from their childhood reminiscences as much as from their contemporary queer lives. As referenced in Alisa Lebow’s book First Person Jewish, TREYF is iconoclastic and intelligent, humorous and poignant, a personal journey from kibbutz summers to coming out, from keeping kosher to “Bat Mitzvahs.” A reflection on culture, community, and individual desire, this witty film follows the filmmakers as they discover what they thought was most profoundly “treyf” about their worldviews still has roots in Jewish history. 

Alisa Lebow’s Personal Website

Co-director Alisa Lebow performs an autocritique of the film she made in her book, First Person Jewish, available on JSTOR. The introduction to the book is available for free. She dedicates a full chapter “A Treyf Autocritique of Autobiography” to this film.

Interview with co-director Cynthia Madansky discusses the origins of the film in a 2020 episode of the “Two Old Bitches” podcast.

16 mm

54 mins

Cynthia Madansky and Alisa Lebow

For research, teaching, and educational use please use CONTACT US in About section to make a request for access.