Lili Rosen

Lili Rosen is an American transgender actress, writer, translator, producer and cultural consultant.

Career

Theater

In 2017, Rosen made her stage debut in a critically acclaimed production of Sholem Asch's Yiddish classic God of Vengeance.[1][2] Rosen also played the role of Jean in Rhinoceros and the role of Vladimir in Waiting for Godot in Yiddish.[3]

The Second Circumcision of Lili Rosen

In 2024, Rosen debuted a new one-woman-show written and performed by her called "The Second Circumcision of Lili Rosen" at the 14th Street Y Theater in the East Village, Manhattan.[4] In her show, Rosen tells the story of her Hasidic upbringing, her gender transition, and coming out to her Hasidic family.[5][6]

Film

Rosen played the title character in the short film The Binding of Itzik,[7] which was nominated with the Iris Prize, and won numerous awards, including the JFI Film Completion Grant, Film Movement Best Narrative Short Award at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, Best Film Award (Berlin Underground Film Festival), Jury Award (International Women's Film Festival), and Audience Choice Award (YoFiFest).[8] The Binding of Itzik is available to stream on Vimeo and was a Vimeo "staff pick".[9][10]

In 2023, Rosen won the SFFILM Rainin Development Grant for The Binding of Itzik.[11][12]

Other film roles include "Zishe" in SHTTL, "Principal Rabbi" in Minyan, and "Shulem" in Tzadeikis.[13]

Television

Rosen had a recurring role in the 2020 German miniseries Unorthodox, in which she played the Rabbi.[14]

Consulting

Dubbed by Air Mail as "Hollywood's Yiddish Consultant", Rosen is a Yiddish specialist who served as the script consultant, translator, language coach and art consultant on numerous projects for theatre,[15] film and TV,[16] including most recently Shttl,[17] Unorthodox,[18] Little America (TV series), An American Pickle[19] and Minyan (film).[13]

Unorthodox

Unorthodox was the first Netflix series to be filmed primarily in Yiddish.[20] Rosen was "the first person hired" on the series to ensure the authentic portrayal of the Hasidic Yiddish-speaking community.[21] Rosen was brought in early to translate the script into Yiddish, coach the actors, consult on cultural details, and play the rabbi. Shira Haas, the Emmy-nominated star of Unorthodox (miniseries), credited Rosen with her ability to speak Yiddish in the series, calling her "an amazing teacher."[22] Emmy-nominated director Maria Schrader said that she "would've been lost without [Rosen's] advice." Rosen acted as the "backstage rabbi" on set, working on set every day, conferring with Maria Schrader, offering technical and emotional support, and was involved in writing many of the scenes.[23][14]

Translation

In addition to translating TV and film scripts into Yiddish, Rosen translated "You Be You: The Kid's Guide to Gender, Sexuality and Family" into Yiddish (ISBN 978-1953829-22-1). Rosen's translation of this award-winning kid's guide[24] makes it the first LGBTQ youth guide in Yiddish.[25] In her translation, Rosen had to decide on appropriate Yiddish language terminology for many LGBTQ+ terms and related concepts that did not previously exist, at least in print.[25][26]

She also translated several theatrical plays into Yiddish, including Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros,[27][28] and two plays by Hanoch Levin.[29]

Personal life

Rosen was born and raised in the Hasidic community of Borough Park, Brooklyn.[30] Lili was a cantor and an attorney[8] before she got divorced and left the Hasidic community.[31]

In 2022, Rosen came out as trans during an interview about an upcoming release of a book. The story was first reported by The Jerusalem Post in a headline reading "Ex-Hasid who advised 'Unorthodox' comes out as trans."[30] This story was syndicated appearing in other Jewish newspapers worldwide.[32][33][34] Since coming out, she is largely estranged from her family.[35] In a recent interview, Rosen said that she felt an obligation or a calling to use her voice on behalf of her trans siblings.[36]

References

  1. ^ Horwitz, Simi (2016-12-21). "But Is 'God of Vengeance' Good for the Jews?". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  2. ^ Ordin, Victoria. "Review: New Yiddish Rep's Masterful Revival of Sholem Asch's Look At Eastern European Jewish Culture in GOD OF VENGEANCE". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  3. ^ Musbach, Julie. "Eli Rosen Steps Into WAITING FOR GODOT In Yiddish, Replacing Rafael Goldwaser". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  4. ^ Grisar, P. J. (2024-10-17). "Ex-hasidic, trans and brutally honest, Lili Rosen invites you to her 'Second Circumcision'". The Forward. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  5. ^ Grisar, P. J. (2024-10-17). "Ex-hasidic, trans and brutally honest, Lili Rosen invites you to her 'Second Circumcision'". The Forward. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  6. ^ Rosen, Lili (2024-10-24). "Excerpt: "The Second Circumcision of Lili Rosen"". Lilith Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  7. ^ "lili rosen". lili rosen. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  8. ^ a b "lili rosen". lili rosen. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  9. ^ Benkov, Anika (2021-08-27). The Binding Of Itzik. Retrieved 2024-11-03 – via Vimeo.
  10. ^ "lili rosen". lili rosen. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  11. ^ "Announcing the 2023 SFFILM Rainin Grant Recipients". SFFILM. 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  12. ^ Staff, Filmmaker (2023-11-21). "2023 SFFILM Rainin Grant Recipients Include Lily Gladstone and Nijla Mu'min". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  13. ^ a b Ben Porat, Ido (April 5, 2020). "How do you teach actors to speak Yiddish?". Israel National News. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  14. ^ a b "Netflix's 'Unorthodox' went to remarkable lengths to get Hasidic Jewish customs right". Los Angeles Times. 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  15. ^ Roundabout Theatre Company (2023-03-10). The Wanderers with Lili Rosen | Theatre Talk. Retrieved 2024-11-07 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ "Consulting".
  17. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (2021-09-01). "'SHTTL': Single-Shot Shoah Feature With Saul Rubinek Wraps In Ukraine; Sets To Be Maintained As Open-Air Museum". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  18. ^ Cardiel, Mateo Sancho (2020-07-19). "'Unorthodox' en la vida real". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  19. ^ Hanau, Shira (2022-01-26). "Ex-Hasid who advised 'Unorthodox' comes out as trans while translating children's sexuality guide into Yiddish". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  20. ^ Saval, Malina (2020-03-26). "'Unorthodox' Star Shira Haas Brings Yiddish, Hassidic Judaism and Contemporary German Culture to Netflix". Variety. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  21. ^ Bramesco, Charles (2020-03-26). "Unorthodox: behind the Deutschland 83 co-creator's new Netflix series". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  22. ^ Neophytou, Nadia (2020-07-08). "Shira Haas On The "Enormous, Amazing" Reaction To 'Unorthodox': "I Always Believed In The Show"". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  23. ^ Goldfarb, Karen (2020-05-27). "From Shtreimels to Sex, This Former Hasid Made Sure 'Unorthodox' Was Accurate". Kveller. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  24. ^ "2019 Winners". www.moonbeamawards.com. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  25. ^ a b Branfman, Jonathan; Rosen, Lili (October 5, 2021). "Be Yourself! (with a little help): Creating the First Yiddish LGBTQ Youth Guide". In Geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies.
  26. ^ Grisar, PJ (2022-01-24). "A kids' guide to gender and sexuality is now in Yiddish". The Forward. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  27. ^ Soloski, Alexis (September 14, 2017). "Review: The Beasts Have Arrived, in a Yiddish 'Rhinoceros'". The New York Times.
  28. ^ Benjamin, Tova (September 2017). "Remedy Before the Sickness: Eli Rosen on Translating Rhinoceros into Yiddish". In Geveb.
  29. ^ Durell, Sandi (2018-03-30). "Theater Review: New Yiddish Rep - Hanoch Levin Squared". Theater Pizzazz. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  30. ^ a b "Ex-Hassid who advised 'Unorthodox' comes out as trans". 27 January 2022.
  31. ^ Kilgannon, Corey (March 12, 2017). "An Incisive Play About Hasidism, With Actors Who Lived It". The New York Times.
  32. ^ Hanau, Shira (January 29, 2022). "Ex-Hasid comes out as trans while translating kids' book on sexuality into Yiddish". The Times of Israel.
  33. ^ Stern, Sigmund (February 23, 2022). "'Unorthodox' rabbi comes out as trans". New Jersey Jewish News.
  34. ^ Stern, Sigmund. "Unorthodox rabbi comes out as trans". www.australianjewishnews.com. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  35. ^ Grisar, P. J. (2024-10-17). "Ex-hasidic, trans and brutally honest, Lili Rosen invites you to her 'Second Circumcision'". The Forward. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  36. ^ Grisar, P. J. (2024-10-17). "Ex-hasidic, trans and brutally honest, Lili Rosen invites you to her 'Second Circumcision'". The Forward. Retrieved 2024-11-03.