2026 FESTIVALApril 8-18, 2026Lansing, MI
  • The Chaplain & The Doctor
  • The Chaplain & The Doctor
  • The Chaplain & The Doctor
  • Forever in the Mountains

The Chaplain & The Doctor

Filled with warmth and humor, this buddy film follows two unlikely allies working to bring curiosity, connection, and compassion to a broken healthcare system – one patient at a time.

Betty Clark is an 80-year-old, African American chaplain on staff at The Wilma Chan Highland Hospital Campus, the level-one trauma center in Oakland, California. Jessica Zitter is a white, Jewish physician who has been Betty’s colleague on the Palliative Care service for over a decade. The two women are an unlikely team: chaplains and doctors do not usually pair up within the hierarchical and siloed halls of the hospital. Dr. Zitter, trained to believe in medical interventions and science, was not seeking a relationship with a chaplain. And Chaplain Clark never expected the doctor to take interest in her work.

But with time, the two women’s shared values and history overcome the forces that keep them apart, and they go on to do their best work together. Under Betty’s guidance, Jessica begins a journey to understand the barriers and biases that doctors like herself often bring to the bedside.

As Betty starts to face her own health challenges, Jessica takes over her care through a deeply personal lens, witnessing more intimately the experience of patients of color in America’s hospitals – this time, with someone she’s grown to love.

The Chaplain & The Doctor models a new kind of care, one that honors both spirit and body, the diverse backgrounds of patients, and the most human needs we all share.

  • DIRECTOR
    Jessica Zitter
  • YEAR
    2025
  • RUNTIME
    85 Minutes
  • LANGUAGE
    English
Pre-Feature Short: A Michigan Frontrunner

Forever in the Mountains

A story about navigating grief and finding sisterhood in the mountains. When her best “pow day” friend is diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age, Stephanie turns her grief into purpose. Set deep in the Colorado Rockies, Forever in the Mountains tells the powerful origin story of the nonprofit Tits Deep for Breast Cancer. Join Stephanie as she navigates grief, finds sisterhood, and works to save young lives in the mountains.

Tits Deep for Breast Cancer is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that focuses on advocacy, education, outreach, and supporting young women seeking breast cancer treatment. Our mission is to help younger women catch cancer early enough to save their lives. www.titsdeepforbreastcancer.com

  • DIRECTOR
    Grace Eggleston
  • YEAR
    2025
  • RUNTIME
    14 Minutes
  • LANGUAGE
    English
Check out other upcoming events
  • Sat, April 11 5:30 PM
  • Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
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  • The Robin Theatre
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  • Sat, April 11 11:00 AM
  • Riverwalk Theatre
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  • Sat, April 11 8:00 PM
  • Central United Methodist Church Sanctuary
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  • Sat, April 11 8:00 PM
  • Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
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  • Sat, April 11 12:30 PM
  • Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
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  • Sat, April 11 9:30 AM
  • Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
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