“the Binding of itzik” wins prestigious sffilm rainin grant

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that Anika Benkov (writer, director of The Binding of Itzik) and I were named as recipients of the 2023 SFFILM Rainin Grant! The Rainin Grant is the flagship artist development program offered by SFFILM Makers in partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. Seventeen filmmaking teams have been selected as recipients of the SFFILM Rainin Grant which includes funding and professional support for their narrative projects at different stages of production.

The SFFILM Rainin Grant program is the largest granting body for independent narrative feature films in the US, and supports films that address social justice issues—the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges—in a positive and meaningful way through plot, character, theme, or setting. Awards are made to multiple projects once a year, for screenwriting, development, and post-production. Recipients are offered a cash grant up to $25,000 for screenwriting and development, post-production as well as a two-month residency at FilmHouse, SFFILM’s premier artist residency space.

see lili as *itzik* in **the binding of itzik**

An official selection at OUTFEST and the New Orleans Film Festival, the film was shortlisted for the prestigious IRIS PRIZE was a Vimeo STAFF PICK, and won numerous awards, including the Film Movement Best Narrative Short, Special Jury Award (Bend Film Festival), Best Film Award (Berlin Underground Film Festival), and FreshFlix Short Film Award (Boston Jewish Film Festival).
The Binding of Itzik is A VIMEO STAFF PICK *and available to stream free:* https://vimeo.com/593406845.

“Rosen reveals herself to be a sensitive dramatic actor and marvelously understated…”
*— Forward*
“At its essence, the film is about a courageous act of self-discovery, and you’ll be rooting for Itzik all the way through.”
*— Anti-Gravity Magazine*
“Exploring kinks, one email at a time. Funny, sweet and incisive in its look at intimacy in all its many beautiful forms. One of the most sex-positive short films I've ever seen.”
*— Source Weekly*

*See Lili* as
“**Reb Yossele”**

Now streaming on Netflix

*Featured in*
**Making Unorthodox**

Now streaming on Netflix

“That's very nice, but when will you get a real job?”

**- Lili’s Mother**

Lili was born and raised in a Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn, which she left to pursue life, liberty and a law degree. Shortly thereafter (i.e. seven years of indentured-servitude-to-Uncle-Laban later), she saw the error in her ways. A recovering lawyer, Lili is now discovering her long-repressed passion in the dramatic arts. When not running from set to base and back like a geshokhtene kapore, Lili can be found translating obscure tomes, updating her website and hatching ill-fated schemes for trans world dominance.