Gabriela Böhm has been in demand as a speaker on the issues of identity and empathy.  Over the past three years, she has screened The Longing:  The Forgotten Jews of South America at more than 30 film festivals and special screenings, discussing the film and its issues in the US and abroad, including at the New York Jewish Film Festival, San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, Reel Docs in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and the Centro Cultural Midrash in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Gabriela provides content on these issues to Synaplex member synagogues for their educational evenings and was booked to speak at Etz Haim Synagogue and Ahavat Shalom Congregation, both in Los Angeles. She was keynote speaker at the Society for Crypto Judaic Studies Conference in 2009. Last year, Böhm discussed the genealogy of her Holocaust survivor parents ("Böhm-Katz Genealogy") at the International Conference on Jewish Genealogy.  Her search to undercover her history was chronicled in her first film, Passages, as a way to provide a legacy to her unborn son.

Workshops on Identity Based on The Longing: The Forgotten Jews of South America

Award-winning documentary film director Gabriela Böhm offers workshops on identity and empathy based on her documentary The Longing: The Forgotten Jews of South America. Set in Ecuador, the film chronicles the story of five people attempting to regain their Jewish heritage against the local Jewish community's fierce opposition.

The Longing to Belong workshops focus on marginalized crypto Jews and existing Jewish communities who reject them. Participants will explore the complexities of Jewish identity in today's world through a screening or clips from the film, discussion and experiential exercises. Böhm creates a nurturing, intellectual environment in which attendees can explore their personal, political and spiritual perspectives. Together, they will reach new perspectives and compassion.