The CBS Film Series is looking to continue into 2019 with its latest film, “93Queen,” which will screen at Congregation Beth Shalom on Jan. 13.
Director Paula Eiselt presents the story of Rachel “Ruthie” Freier in this documentary. A Hasidic lawyer, Freier devotes herself to creating Ezras Nashim, the first all-female ambulance corps in Borough Park, Brooklyn. The ambulance corps watching over her community, Hatzolah, is made up of men and does not accept women to join its ranks.
Forming Ezras Nashim gives women a more dignified source of medical care, according to “93Queen’s” website.
“(This film is) a look inside an ultra-orthodox community in Brooklyn and it’s the struggles between men and women living there,” said Suzannah Warlick, CBS Film Series director.
In building up this new group, Freier and other women encounter bullying and threats as they work to develop a group devoted to helping women in need by maintaining their modesty but also not letting them be exposed to men they don’t know, Warlick said.
The documentary premiered on April 29 at the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival and has a 93 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“It’s a great movie where perseverance pays,” Warlick said. “You fight through all the bullying, everybody is against you, but if you persevere and hit all the bumps in the road, it really shows your work struck through.”
The screening starts at 12 p.m. Tickets cost $5 and include lunch and popcorn. Guests who pay for a raffle ticket for $1 have the chance to win a $25 gift card of their choice. Anyone who comes wearing a CBS Films Series shirt will receive a raffle ticket. Friends of regular guests to the CBS Films who have not previously attended will also receive a raffle ticket.
CBS Film Series screenings are held monthly, presenting films that address social awareness and global relevance.
