Hineni — "Here I Am" - is a feature-length documentary traveling across the United States to document the lives of 18 diverse Jewish Americans in the environments that define them: their homes, workplaces, shuls, and communities.
The subjects are Jewish Americans who are Black, Asian, Middle Eastern, Mizrahi, Sephardic, Cochin, Beta Israel, gay, lesbian, and transgender - individuals whose rich and vibrant, deeply personal expressions of Jewish faith and culture are being celebrated, seen, and heard. It is my goal for them to be fully witnessed, honored, and cherished.
The number 18 is intentional. In Hebrew, chai means life and carries a numerical value of 18 - one of the most sacred and beloved symbols in Jewish culture. This film is built around that number deliberately: 18 lives, 18 stories, one complete and living portrait of who Jewish Americans truly are.
Shot entirely on location - no studios, no backdrops, just life as it is actually lived - Hineni is an intimate, honest, and celebratory portrait of a community far broader and more beautiful than the world has been shown.
This project grows directly out of a PSA created in partnership with Reboot in May 2024 for Jewish American Heritage Month that aired on all Paramount global channels including MTV, Paramount+, and CMT. Over three days in studio, director Brian Molyneaux photographed 60 diverse Jewish Americans. That experience made this documentary inevitable.
At a moment when antisemitism is rising and representation matters more than ever, Hineni celebrates the full, extraordinary diversity of Jewish American life - through love, through presence, and through the power of genuine human connection.
Learn More: https://www.brianmolyneaux.com/