The Shvitz (1994) is a portrait of the patrons of the last American urban steambaths, using that "secret world" as a window onto the evolution of city life. The steambaths were a sanctuary for poor European immigrants and later, an icon of gay liberation. The documentary features writer Larry Gelbart (MASH) and beat poet John Giorno, each talking about their relationship to the refuge of the baths. As a portrait of a vanishing institution, threatened by assimilation, AIDS, and gentrification, Berman's film captures a universal need to celebrate and preserve disappearing traditions, providing a warm and humorous look at ethnicity, nostalgia, sexuality and even spirituality.