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    Heathens
    ABOUT THE PROJECT

    LOGLINE
    When five strangers from deep religious backgrounds reluctantly share their disbelief in the Gospel, they resolve to support each other through the traumatic fallout of revealing their secret to their friends and families.

    SYNOPSIS
    For one weekend a year, hundreds of Americans gather at a secluded retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains, many under assumed names, unbeknownst to their own families, seeking respite from the guilt, shame, fear, and loneliness of living a lie. Each has quietly rejected their childhood religion and knows the cost of honesty: family, security, livelihood. They are not alone — according to recent Cornell University research, over 80 million American adults exaggerate or fabricate their faith.

    By the end of the weekend, five non-believers boldly resolve to reclaim their lives, forging a friendship that carries them through the storms awaiting them back home. In this warm, funny, unexpectedly joyful story, they rebuild community, inspired by the gospel music of home. Embracing the Biblical epithet as their new identity, five "Heathens" discover for the first time in their lives who they truly are.

    PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature

    DIRECTOR David Cowan, Shawn Hardin
    PRODUCER David Cowan, Shawn Hardin
    EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Rebecca Cammisa

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    ID: 794