The Chaplain of Oakland
Documentary Film in Production
Logline
Frustrated by watching Black patients suffer due to end-of-life healthcare inequities, two determined allies — a chaplain and a doctor — work to transform a broken medical system, one patient at a time.
Story Summary
While providing end-of-life care to Oakland's most vulnerable patients, a hospital chaplain challenges her physician protegé to look at "medicine" in a whole new way.
Betty Clark is a 79-year-old chaplain and one of few African American women on staff at the public hospital in Oakland, California. Jessica Zitter is a physician who has worked with Betty for over a decade. In the early years of their relationship, Jessica doesn’t pay much attention to the chaplain’s work, having been trained to prioritize medical interventions over spiritual connection, fast decision-making over relationship-building. But over time, Jessica starts to realize that Betty’s approach—non-judgmental, curious, and compassionate— is essential for her work as a doctor. “Everybody has a story,” is Betty’s mantra. Betty takes on the role of mentor to Jessica, inspiring in her a deep curiosity for the stories of their patients as well as soul-searching about the biases and barriers that doctors like herself often bring to the bedside. The chaplain and the doctor forge a bond that celebrates both what’s different between them, and ultimately, what is fundamentally the same. As Betty starts to face her own health challenges, Jessica witnesses more intimately the experience of patients of color in America’s hospitals – this time, with someone she’s grown to love. With increasing urgency, the two allies are further galvanized in their mission to bring humanity to our country’s most vulnerable patients.
Meet the Film Team
-
Jessica Zitter
Director
-
Jen Gilomen
Producer
-
Niema Jordan
Producer
-
Jackie Olive
Executive Producer
-
Catherine King
Executive Director, Reel Medicine Media
-
Brian Walker
CEO, Picture Motion
-
Jacob Bricca
Editor
-
Jessica Jones
Contributing Editor
-
Nicole Amyx
Assistant Editor
-
Rajal Pitroda
Consulting Producer
-
Katie Galloway
Consulting Producer and Story Editor
-
Cheo Tyehimba Taylor
Creative Consultant
-
Aurora Brachman
Cinematographer and Creative Consultant
-
Gabe Martinez
Sound Recordist
“Everybody has a story.”
-Chaplain BeTTy Clark
Help us tell Betty’s story by supporting The Chaplain of Oakland film and impact campaign.
Thank you to our crowdfunding Supporters:
Robin Flagg • Pamela Cranston • Maureen Miller • Lisa Beritzhoff • Jennifer Ladd • Celia Sack and Paula Harris • Gloria White-Hammond • Fran Tannenbaum Kaye And Brian Kaye • Julie Martel • Ann LaCasce • Wendy Anderson • Mark Nelson • Dan Ariely • Xandra Castleton • Tessa Zitter • Sherry And Forest Otter Zitter • Sherry Michael • Rosemary Graham • Carolyn Read • Pam McCormick • Mark E Lampkin • Marin Gillis • Delane Sims • Laine Julian • Karly Donovan • Alex Smith • Julia Rose Golomb • Jennifer Reidy • S R Campbell • Heather Clague • Dennis Moonier • Befriendingdeath.com • David and Laureen Cohen • Mark Sicherman • Cristianne Fritsch • Catherine King • Landau • Linda Bulman • Birgitta Kastenbaum • Ann Gordon • Mary Kay Wright • Northern New Jersey Chapter of Hospice and Palliative Nurse Association• Kristin Fless • Ken and Lauren Parlin • Justine Jacob • Cynthia Perrilliat • Becky Waring • Tink Bess • Raja Khanna • Michael Cole • Krista Walton Potter • Jen Gilomen • Janet Keller • Dennis Galvan and Kirsti Haugen • Hadley Dynak • Grant Smith • Elizabeth Becker • Ellen Beilock • Dan and San Nowell • Caroline Lovell • Pat Murphy • Brian Kemp • Andrew and Michelle • Ashley And Matt Jerome • Naomi Applebaum • Michael Fratkin