The Darkest Light: Screening and Talkback with Simon Mendes, Neshama Carlebach, Donna Zerner and Rabbi Angela Buchdahl

Simon Mendes is a New York-based director and producer. He Directed and Produced The Darkest Light, his feature-film debut, which premiered at the 2026 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and won the inaugural Best First Feature Award. Simon Co-Produced Sabbath Queen (Dir. Sandi DuBowski), which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, and he Produced Elegy: My Two Months in Harlem (Dir. Andre Lambertson), which premiered on PBS in the Summer of 2022. He was Associate Producer of both the Netflix Original documentaries Becoming (Dir. Nadia Hallgren), the story of the former First Lady Michelle Obama, and Dick Johnson is Dead (Dir. Kirsten Johnson), which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, winning a Special Jury Award for Innovation in Non-fiction Storytelling, and was shortlisted for Best Documentary at the 2021 Academy Awards®. Simon was also Associate Producer of Charm City (Dir. Marilyn Ness), which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was shortlisted for the 2019 Academy Awards®. Simon’s original film, Dating in Place, about virtual dating at the outset of COVID-19, was featured in The New Yorker. Currently, he is Producing Alliance (Dir. Jeremy Borison), and Take Care (Dir. Esther Hertog and Tomer Slutzky). Simon is a member of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA), where he served as a founding member of the Ethics Resource Library Subcommittee. His work has been supported by Jewish Story Partners, Jewish Film Institute, Gotham Film & Media Institute, and DOC NYC Live Pitch.

Neshama Carlebach is an award-winning singer, songwriter, writer, and educator, and one of today’s bestselling Jewish artists. A cornerstone of major Jewish music festivals in the U.S. and internationally, she has performed for thousands of people across generations, faiths, and backgrounds.

Her tenth recording, Believe, received four nominations at the 18th Annual Independent Music Awards, winning the Vox Pop Award for Adult Contemporary Song. The album also earned her a Global Music Awards Silver Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Vocalist.

Neshama began training as a singer and actress at age five and, as a teenager, performed alongside her father, the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. As the first woman of her generation from an Orthodox background to perform for mixed-gender audiences, she has become a passionate advocate for religious pluralism, women’s voices, and human rights. She is featured in the award-winning 2026 documentary The Darkest Light.

During the pandemic, Neshama brought music and comfort to communities worldwide through more than 350 virtual events. Following the October 7 attacks, she organized and performed in concerts throughout the New York metropolitan area, bringing thousands together and raising more than half a million dollars for Israel.

For over two decades, Neshama has shared her insights as an essayist, with writings featured in publications and widely circulated internationally. She is currently writing her memoir and pursuing rabbinic ordination at the Academy for Jewish Religion.

Donna Zerner is a former book editor, publishing consultant and writer who worked behind the scenes in the spiritual teaching world for over 30 years. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where she performs storytelling and spiritual stand-up comedy. She is a longtime advocate for victims of sexual abuse by spiritual leaders.

Angela Warnick Buchdahl serves as the Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City, the first woman to lead this flagship congregation in its 185 year history. Under her leadership, Central has become one of the largest synagogues in the world, with livestream viewers in over 100 countries. Born in Seoul, Buchdahl is the first Asian-American to be ordained as a rabbi in North America. She offered blessings at the White House Hanukah party in 2014 and 2023. In 2025, Buchdahl authored her memoir, Heart of a Stranger, which became an instant New York Times bestseller. Rabbi Buchdahl and her husband Jacob Buchdahl, have three children.

Rabbi David A. Ingber is Senior Director for Jewish Life and Senior Director of the Bronfman Center at 92NY. A nationally recognized Jewish leader, educator, and teacher of Jewish spirituality, he is the founding rabbi of Romemu, the largest Jewish Renewal synagogue in the United States.

Ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, Rabbi Ingber founded Romemu in New York City in 2006 and later established Romemu Yeshiva, the first fully egalitarian yeshiva dedicated to mystical and meditative Jewish learning and practice.

His approach to Torah, Jewish mysticism, prayer, and spirituality is informed by a broad range of Jewish traditions, philosophy, psychology, and religious thought. Rabbi Ingber has taught and lectured internationally and serves on the faculties of the Wexner Heritage Program and the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America and Israel. He was also an AJWS Global Justice Fellow.

Named by Newsweek as one of the 50 most influential rabbis in the United States and by The Forward as one of America's 50 most notable Jews, Rabbi Ingber is widely recognized for his thoughtful, inclusive approach to Jewish learning. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Ariel, and their three children.