Beth Israel is pleased to host a pre-screening of an upcoming Michael Carnick Independent Film, working title of Obsidian Dolls, which was filmed at Beth Israel.

Come see a limited, early test screening of OBSIDIAN DOLLS, an upcoming feature film centering around themes of faith, journeying, and mental health.

Shot entirely inside our Glickman-Galinson Sancutary, Obsidian Dolls is an intellectual, innovative, and character driven drama about an Ethiopian rabbi who is tasked with counseling a lost young man on the night before Yom Kippur.

The team behind Obsidian Dolls would like to extend a warm invitation to Congregation Beth Israel for a viewing of an early test cut. The movie is still in its beginning stages of post production, and we are seeking honest feedback from the community on what works and what could be improved.

The director and writer will open the viewing, followed by the film in its two-hour entirety, and then an anonymous Q&A comment survey. We sincerely hope you can join us for this special screening of Obsidian Dolls!

Michael Carnick is the son of Beth Israel members Debbie and Daniel Carnick, who joined Beth Israel in 1989 when Michael was seven.

Michael is a screenwriter and playwright. In 2005, while studying Theatre and Dance at UCSD, Michael was unanimously voted for first place at the 50th anniversary of the Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards. He was the first undergrad to ever receive this prestigious award.

After graduating from UCSD, Michael continued to write screenplays and stage plays, many of which have been turned into live performances. While attending UCR for his MFA in Creative Writing for the Performing Arts, Michael was selected as a Finalist for the Kennedy Center ACTF Region VIII New Play Festival two years in a row. In 2012, his play Marlon and Momma was performed at UCR’s New Play Festival. Michael graduated from UCR’s MFA program in 2012.

At the end of the year, Michael wrote the short film Rolling Romance. In 2013, it was independently produced and shot on location in LA. David Conley was brought on board to direct the film. Rolling Romance was a passion project produced by enthusiastic young filmmakers on a modest budget. Rolling Romance was featured in several film festivals both locally and internationally, and won many awards, including Best Screenplay from the Malibu Film Festival and Indie Fest’s Best in Show.

In 2015 Michael independently produced a feature film based on his Goldwyn award winning script Who’s Driving Doug. The film was directed by David Conley and starred RJ Mitte as the titular Doug. Who’s Driving Doug is semi-autobiographical and centered on personal events from Michael’s life. Focusing on his struggle with Muscular Dystrophy, this drama / dark comedy takes an unflinching look at the social implications that come from being disabled as Doug tries to find love and understand his place in the world. Who’s Driving Doug was sold to Netflix for online streaming rights in 2016. It made its theatrical worldwide premiere at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Michael was born with a rare physical disability which confines him to an electric wheelchair. His work is often centered around the themes of disability awareness and the human experience of being a minority.