Genre
Synopsis
Inspired by the 2,000 person anti-LGBTQ protest against the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at Dodger Stadium, alt-right journalists Fanny and Richie Cox investigate the organization to expose the evils of drag queen nuns. Failing to find evidence of sin while interviewing LA Sisters – instead learning only of their community service – Richie and Fanny follow them to Vegas for their annual gathering, Conclave. There, our cameras reveal that Fanny and Richie are in (cis het) closets of their own: Fanny secretly takes hormones and weight-loss injections to appeal to Richie, while Richie dabbles on queer hookup sites, looking for sex.
They interview beneficiaries of the Sisters’ charity, including a free pharmacy program for HIV+ patients. Unable to accept that drag nuns might be good, they go undercover as “homosexuals” to a Vegas Kink Pride party hoping to dig up some dirt. Richie withers under the pressure while Fanny has an awakening.
The next morning, they head to church for an official comment on the Sisters. Instead, they are confronted by an activist and learn that at least 37 clergymen in the Las Vegas Archdiocese have sexually abused children – and that many of the survivors turn to the Sisters for support. Richie and Fanny leave Vegas, questioning their beliefs.
Desperate for the approval of network star Sherry Kering (Christine Taylor), they recommit to their investigation, attending book-banning events with a Mom Against Liberty (Lux Pascal), but are thwarted on air by a nun (Jen Richards) impressed with the Sisters' good deeds, ruining their exposé.
Forced to confront their failures, they “come out” to each other, vowing to be truer and kinder from this day forward… But just when we hope for a change of heart, they rant about the power of queer brainwashing on the next episode of their show – it almost got them!
Bio
Chase Joynt is a non-fiction filmmaker and writer who works at the edges of genre. His documentary feature, Framing Agnes, was named a Best Movie of the Year by The New Yorker after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival where it won the NEXT Innovator Award and the NEXT Audience Award. The film has played more than 100 festivals internationally and is distributed by Kino Lorber. With Aisling Chin-Yee, Chase co-directed No Ordinary Man, which was presented at Cannes Docs as part of the Canadian Showcase of Docs-in-Progress. Since premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, No Ordinary Man has been hailed by The New Yorker as “a genre unto itself” and Indiewire as “the future of trans cinema.” The film has won 9 awards on the international festival circuit, including being named to TIFF Canada’s Top Ten. For the CW, Chase directed episodes of Two Sentence Horror Stories which are now streaming on Netflix; his episode Elliot from Season 2 won a Telly Award for directing in 2022. He is the co-author of two non-fiction books: the Lambda Literary Award Finalist You Only Live Twice with Mike Hoolboom and Boys Don’t Cry with Morgan M Page. At present, Chase is in post production on The Nest, a feature documentary made in collaboration with Julietta Singh, and his next book Vantage Points is forthcoming in Fall 2024 from Arsenal Pulp Press. With Samantha Curley, he runs Level Ground Productions in Los Angeles.
Credits
Producer - Samantha Curley
Cinematographer - Ava Shorr
Cinematographer - Moira Morel
Associate Producer - Jac