Two women—a secular Jewish lawyer and a newly separated Orthodox milliner—meet by chance and discover in each other a life not lived....
Nadine, a secular Jewish lesbian, meets Orthodox Miriam through Miriam’s children. Nadine wants to cultivate her Jewish identity, where Miriam is dealing with doubts about her place in the world in the wake of her husband’s departure from both their household and Orthodoxy. The women’s friendship grows as they spend time together, and chemistry between them takes weight. Miriam’s estranged husband knows Nadine as a fellow lawyer and tries to steer Miriam, whom he perceives as unworldly, clear of Nadine. Miriam surprises him and Nadine both by filing for civil divorce. In the course of an evening observing the ritual at Sabbath’s end, Nadine and Miriam confront the desire between them. What will Miriam choose? (2013; 18 minutes; stars Robyn Okrant, Kat O'Connor, and Fawzia Mirza)
Hatboxes appeared in 15 film festivals and conferences* in the years immediately following its release, and the Chicago Park District reprised Hatboxes in its Chicago Onscreen: At Home online festival in May 2020.
*Limmud Chicago Conference (2013), We Like ’Em Short Film Festival (Baker City, Oregon, 2013), Cinema Diverse: Palm Springs Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (California, 2013), Chicago Int'l Reel Shorts Film Festival (2013; best director” and “audience choice” awards), Route 66 Int'l Film Festival (Springfield, Illinois, 2013) , Reeling: Chicago Int'l LGBT Film Festival (2013), Outrageous: Santa Barbara LGBTQ Film Festival (2013), Melbourne Queer Film Festival (Australia, 2014), Capitol City Film Festival (Lansing, Michigan, 2014), Chicago Filmmakers Dyke Delicious (2014), Landlocked Film Festival (Iowa City, Iowa, 2014), Chicago Onscreen Film Showcase (September 2014; reprised in May 2020), London Lesbian Film Festival (London, Ontario, 2014), 2ª MOSTRA de Filmes Americanos 2016 (São Paulo, 2016), DePaul University International Women’s Month (Chicago, 2018)