ABOUT THE PROJECT
LOGLINE
As anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric surges in America, an order of queer, trans, and activist nuns—the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence—combat hate through their ministry, revealing a powerful blueprint for resistance.
SYNOPSIS
ANGELS IN WHITEFACE began in 2024, in the aftermath of a U.S. election that signaled a renewed escalation of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation. Across the country, lawmakers are targeting drag performance, gender-affirming healthcare, classroom speech, and LGBTQ+ visibility. For many queer and trans people, the question is no longer whether these attacks are happening, but how to respond to them.
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have been answering that question for nearly fifty years.
Founded in San Francisco in 1979, the Sisters are a global order of queer, trans, and activist nuns who use drag, satire, and community service to confront stigma, raise money, care for vulnerable populations, and advocate for LGBTQ+ communities. They emerged during another period of rising conservatism and came of age during the AIDS crisis, when they visited the sick, organized fundraisers, marched in protest, and created spaces where queer people could gather openly and without shame.
Today, as anti-LGBTQ+ hostility rises once again, the Sisters continue their work on the front lines. Dressed in elaborate habits and white face paint, they show up where they are least expected: at protests, community events, drag shows, city halls, places of worship, and on street corners. Through a "ministry of presence," they offer visibility, connection, and care to people who need it most.
Rather than focusing solely on the forces working against LGBTQ+ communities, ANGELS IN WHITEFACE examines the people building something in response. Through community confessionals, short-form films, artist collaborations, and a feature-length documentary, the project explores how humor, public presence, and acts of service can become powerful tools for organizing, community building, and cultural survival.
At its core, this is a story about people who refuse to disappear, and who have spent decades showing others how to do the same.
PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature
DIRECTOR Cale Sears
PRODUCER Aaron S. Davis, Cale Sears
EDITOR Sasha Fox
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