The Chaplain & The Doctor
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.
Impact Campaign
Join us in our mission to inspire and educate through powerful film-based initiatives. Keep up to date on the progress of The Chaplain & The Doctor, our premiere release rollout, and community screening tour. Impact events will include screenings with keynote and panel discussions, guided conversations, partnerships with local organizations, and more!
“The Chaplain & The Doctor is a timely and compelling documentary exploring the hidden dangers of implicit bias in healthcare. By focusing on the close relationship between a Black chaplain and a white Jewish doctor, the film highlights the power of human-to-human connection in healing an increasingly divided society.”
Darren Walker
President, Ford Foundation
Meet the Film Team
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Jessica Zitter
Director
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Jen Gilomen
Producer
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Niema Jordan
Producer
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Catherine King
Executive Director, Reel Medicine Media
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JACKIE OLIVE
Executive Producer
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Brian Walker
CEO, Picture Motion
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Jacob Bricca
Editor
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Jessica Jones
Contributing Editor
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Nicole Amyx
Assistant Editor
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Rajal Pitroda
Consulting Producer
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Katie Galloway
Consulting Producer and Story Editor
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Raymond Lambert
Consulting Producer
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Cheo Tyehimba Taylor
Creative Consultant
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Aurora Brachman
Cinematographer and Creative Consultant
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Gabe Martinez
Sound Recordist
“Everybody has a story.”
-Chaplain Betty Clark
Help us tell Betty’s story by supporting The Chaplain & The Doctor film and impact campaign.
Thank You to Our Advisors
Andre M. Cipta -Program Director of the Kaiser Permanente (KP) Palliative Medicine Fellowship
Pastor Corey Kennard - Board Member of Reimagine: End of Life and Pastor of Amplify Christian Church
Reverend Cynthia Perrilliat - Ordained Minister at Allen Temple Baptist Church and Executive Director of the Alameda County Care Alliance Collaborative
Reverend Gloria White-Hammond - Co-Pastor of Bethel AME Church and Founder and Executive Director of My Sister’s Keeper
Janice Bell, MD - Associate Dean for Research at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis
Jeannie Blaustein - Co-Founder of Reimagine, Ph.D., D. Ministry
Laer Streeter - Resident, Boston Medical Center
Lauren Domino - Academy Award- nominated Filmmaker
Loren Pogir, MPA - Partner, Transforming Care Partners
Rivkah Beth-Medow - Emmy award- winning Filmmaker, Principal of Frankly Speaking Films, and Board Director of The Kenneth Rainin Foundation
Yael Bridge - Emmy-nominated Documentary Filmmaker, Co-President at Documentary Producers Alliance
Our Partners and Supporters
Alameda County Care Alliance Collaborative
Allen Temple Baptist Church
American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA)
Arizona End of Life Care Partnership
Coalition for Compassionate Care of California (CCCC)
California Humanities / California Documentary Project
Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (CTAC)
The David and Lura Lovell Foundation
Ford Foundation JustFilms
The Gleanings Foundation
Highland Hospital of Alameda Health System
John and Wauna Harman Foundation
Picture Motion
Reimagine
SFFILM FilmHouse & SFFILM Invest
Society for Participatory Medicine
Sundance Collab
Transforming Care Partners
University of Arizona Center on Aging
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