On Tuesday, December 25, Ma’ayanot students, faculty and parents were treated to a screening of “93Queen,” a documentary about Judge Ruchie Freier’s creation of Ezras Nashim, the first all-female ambulance corps in New York City, followed by a Q & A with the film’s director Paula Eiselt. A graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Eiselt described how she spent five years filming and editing 250 hours of footage in a Chasidic enclave of Brooklyn.

“‘93Queen’ is a story of women’s empowerment in a community where you’d least expect to find it,” said Eiselt. The film follows Judge Freier (who at the start was a lawyer but campaigned to become the first female Chasidic civil court judge during the filming of the movie) leading a group of determined women on their mission to provide dignified medical care to Chasidic women and girls in Borough Park. The women began their grassroots campaign when Hatzolah refused to allow women to join their ranks.

“The biggest takeaway is that anything worth doing is hard,” added Eiselt, referring to her years directing the film, but also to Judge Freier’s journey and ultimate success.

Eiselt shared updates with the students since the film’s launch, including the revision of the ambulance corps’ policy of allowing only married women to join and the news that a new branch of Ezras Nashim will be starting at Stern College for Women next year. In addition, Ezras Nashim is close to getting approval for their own ambulance. Until now, they have relied on a New York City ambulance for backup.

Freshman Abigail Lerer shared that she had tears in her eyes after the program, not only because of the film’s powerful content but because Ma’ayanot gave her the opportunity to meet Eiselt and be inspired to fulfill her own goal of becoming a film director.