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The Chaplain & The Doctor

Play trailer 2:25 Poster for The Chaplain & The Doctor 2025 1h 26m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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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.

Critics Reviews

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Zachary Lee RogerEbert.com 6d
2.5/4
It remains an affecting portrait of camaraderie, grace, and compassion under crisis. Go to Full Review Steven Prokopy Third Coast Review May 14
3.5/4
[a] spectacular and deeply moving documentary Go to Full Review Sarah Vincent Sarah G Vincent Views May 5
While it is always wonderful to see a system work and coworkers getting along, it is unclear what Dr. Zitter hoped to accomplish with this poignant film. If it is to memorialize a relationship, then it worked. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

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Jessica Zitter

Director

Jen Gilomen

Writer

Jen Gilomen

Producer

Niema Jordan

Producer

Jessica Zitter

Producer

Catherine King

Executive Producer
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The Chaplain & The Doctor

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The Chaplain & The Doctor

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Movie Info

Synopsis 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.
Director
Jessica Zitter
Producer
Jen Gilomen, Niema Jordan, Jessica Zitter
Screenwriter
Jen Gilomen
Production Co
Reel Medicine Media
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 26m