The Chaplain and the Doctor

Coming Soon in 2025

Logline

Two unlikely allies work to bring curiosity, connection, and compassion to a broken healthcare system, one patient at a time.

Story Summary

Betty Clark is an 80-year-old, African American chaplain on staff at The Wanda 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 and 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.

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 and 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 and 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

  • Jessica Zitter

    Director

  • Jen Gilomen

    Producer

  • Niema Jordan

    Producer

  • Catherine King

    Executive Producer, Reel Medicine Media

  • Jacqueline Olive

    Executive Producer

  • Corey Kennard

    Executive Producer 

  • Brian Walker

    Executive Producer

  • Jacob Bricca

    Editor

  • Jessica Jones

    Contributing Editor

  • Nicole Amyx

    Associate Editor

  • Rajal Pitroda

    Consulting Producer

  • Katie Galloway

    Consulting Producer and Story Editor

  • Raymond Lambert

    Consulting Producer

  • Cheo Tyehimba Taylor

    Creative Consultant

  • Aurora Brachman

    Cinematographer and Creative Consultant

  • Gabe Martinez

    Sound Recordist

  • Alyssa Nevarez

    Skywalker Sound

  • Liz Marston

    Skywalker Sound

  • Natacha Ikoli

    Colorist 

“Everybody has a story.”

-Chaplain Betty Clark

Help us tell Betty’s story by supporting The Chaplain and The Doctor film and impact campaign.

Major Funding Provided By

This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org.

Additional Funding Provided By

Jeannie Blaustein

Y.C. Ho/Helen & Michael Chiang Foundation

The Milbank Foundation 

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 • The Wanda Chan Highland Hospital Campus 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 Generous Donors 

Dan Ariely • Mark Nelson • Madeleine W. Ballard • Rhoda & Stephen Nutik • Bay Area End of Life Doula Alliance • Kenneth & Lauren Parlin • Pamela Bendich • Robina Riccitiello • Lisa Beritzhoff & Catherine King • Eileen Ruby • Lisa & Matt Chanoff • Kim Selby • Chitta Foundation • Maia & Brett Singer • Sanjay Desai • Melissa Stern & Jim Friedlich • Meg & Steve Edelson • Gretchen & Jay Stein • Wes Ely • Hannah Stone-Craven • Tracy & Mark Ferron • Dorine & Jon Streeter • Laurie & Rich Goldberg • Dora & Arthur Ullian • James Jackson • Bob Wexler & Gayle Slattery • Rebecca Kramnick & Phil Cohen • Arlene Zuckerberg & Alan Gellman • Dorian Mintzer & David Feingold

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