Robin Garbose

From The Jewish Week:

Los Angeles — The tops of moonlit palm trees hovered above hundreds of Orthodox girls and women who drove through the enormous gates of Paramount Studio’s lot to The Sherry Lansing Theater on a recent Saturday night here.
This was no typical premiere. The stars from Robin Garbose’s “A Light for Greytowers” who sauntered across the red carpet leading to the theater were all women clad in modest clothing. Although they seemed at ease greeting camera crew, photographers and media, some had never been to a movie before, certainly not a premiere.
Garbose considers this a Hollywood film — the production crew consisted of industry professionals, and Warner Brothers provided in-kind support with props, sets and costumes, including the original nightgowns from “The Little Princess.” However, the film’s distribution challenges the entertainment business.
“Greytowers” will be distributed to female-only audiences and to women’s groups on college campuses. (It screens in Passaic, N.J., and the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, next week.) Garbose is restricting men from viewing it due to Orthodox tradition that does not permit women to sing or dance in front of men. The movie was directed under rabbinic supervision, especially scenes with the only three male actors in the film who deliberately don’t appear in the same frames as women.
Based on the young-adult novel by Eva Vogiel and Ruth Steinberg, the story is set at the fictional Greytowers orphanage in 19th-century England. It follows the journey of Miriam Aronowitch, played by Abby Shapiro, who is now 14.