Shabbat Dinner was shot with a small crew in a friend's apartment, as part of an application to film school. It wasn't ever meant to be a bigger film, but once we started submitting it to film festivals, the response was overwhelming.

It premiered at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, and what followed was a whirlwind tour of over 50 film festivals. The film screened twice to a standing ovation at the San Francisco Castro theater. In Indonesia, where LGBT people are labeled mentally disabled, it was snuck in to an audience with no access to this type of media.

Perhaps it is because of Shabbat Dinner's tension and true-to-life depiction of the feelings of growing up, or the tensions between parents and children, or perhaps it is the wonderful performances that have made this film an audience favorite far beyond the narrow groups of LGBT people, Jews, or New Yorkers.

We like to think that more than any of the above, it's a film about growing up.