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Logline

A manic youth pastor’s naked streak during a Sunday service thrusts church leadership into a PR crisis, relying on an agnostic intern to navigate the fallout.

Synopsis

It’s an ordinary Sunday at RiverTree Christian Fellowship—until youth pastor Chris Zingerman streaks naked through the church mid-service in a manic episode, exposing himself to God, the entire congregation, and anyone watching online.

The next day, the board convenes an emergency session to decide how to respond, both publicly and internally. Their objective: damage control. Their obstacle: each other. The church’s bylaws require a unanimous vote to terminate staff, and while Margaret—the longest-serving and most merciless board member—immediately calls for Chris’s firing, Pastor John, the warm but naive senior pastor, holds out – an optimist increasingly out of step with the institutional machinery he nominally leads.

Thrust into this chaos is Jada, a young PR intern volunteered by her boss to help manage the media fallout. Agnostic and out of her depth, Jada quickly becomes the unwilling conscience of the room—questioning not only the church’s PR strategies but its core values.

As the board debates theology, liability, and optics, the crisis escalates online. Footage of Chris’s breakdown has gone viral. Memes flood social media. Pornhub hosts an uncensored version. A global trend, the #ZingermanChallenge, emerges—copycat streakers disrupting public spaces in solidarity or mockery. A news van parks outside, and the board realizes they’re not just managing a church scandal—they’re now part of a cultural spectacle.

The stress fractures the group. Their conversation devolves into character assassination and theological bickering. In a pivotal moment, Margaret and Jada clash outside in a physical confrontation after Margaret storms off to speak to a reporter. The altercation unearths a deeper truth about Margaret: behind her iron will lies a long-buried wound that explains her inability to forgive—not just Chris, but herself.

What follows is unexpected, deeply human, and entirely unresolvable by policy. A story about failure, faith, and the terrifying beauty of honesty.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Erin Brown Thomas — Writer/Director/Producer
Erin Brown Thomas is a writer, director, and producer known for her genre-blending “traumadies” that mix comedy and drama to explore authenticity and performance. Her latest project, Chasers — a 31-minute single-continuous-shot pilot—world-premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and made its LA premiere at Slamdance, the first narrative project accepted into both festivals.

With over a decade of directing experience, Erin is a Nicholl Fellowship Semifinalist whose work critiques ambition, social imbalance, and industrialized Christianity. Her upcoming feature, The Body of Chris ranked 17th out of 22K comedies on Coverfly in 2022 .

Erin has collaborated with BAFTA, DGA, and Emmy-winning talent, including Lena Dunham and Elisabeth Moss. Her editorial background sharpens her storytelling, and her scripts have advanced with Sundance and Imagine Impact. As a director, her films have been recognized at Cannes AMPAV, Palm Springs ShortFest, SeriesFest, and Austin Film Festival, and wins at HollyShorts and Cinequest.

Anna Baumgarten — Producer
Anna Baumgarten is a Los Angeles-based writer, director, and producer known for bold, socially engaged storytelling. Her debut feature, Disfluency, won the Jury Award at the Austin Film Festival, was developed through Jim Cummings’ Short to Feature Lab, received the Duplass Brothers’ “Oh Shit!” Grant, and was selected for US in Progress Wroclaw. As a producer, Anna shepherds projects from development to release, leveraging her strengths in story craft and festival strategy.

She’s developed unscripted series for MTV, VH1, and Nickelodeon at Pietown, Monami, and Superjacket Productions, giving her a unique edge in both indie and commercial spaces. She also serves as media partner for SafeBAE, producing PSA campaigns featured in Teen Vogue.

Anna’s work fuses creative ambition with purpose, and her deep industry experience positions her as a dynamic, values-driven producer—one equally committed to audience impact and long-term project success.

Elle Shaw — Producer
Elle Shaw is an award-winning producer whose passion for storytelling began in Topeka, Kansas and evolved through a career that spans acting, theater, podcasting, and film. She made the leap into producing in 2016, drawn to the power of visual storytelling to explore the human condition.

Elle’s work has premiered at top festivals and platforms including Sundance, Slamdance, the American Pavilion at Cannes, and Austin Film Festival. In addition to producing narrative and documentary films, she serves as Executive Director of the Salute Your Shorts Film Festival in Los Angeles, where she champions bold new voices and cultivates a thriving creative community.

With a sharp instinct for character-driven stories and a deep commitment to artistic collaboration, Elle brings both vision and heart to every project she touches.

Kristoffer Polaha — Producer/Performer
Kristoffer Polaha is an accomplished actor and emerging producer whose work spans television, film, and independent features. He is best known for leading roles in Life Unexpected (The CW), Get Shorty (Epix), Condor (MGM), and Backstrom (FOX), as well as recurring roles on Mad Men (AMC) and Landman (Paramount+). Polaha is a familiar face on Hallmark, starring in the Mystery 101 franchise and A Biltmore Christmas, the highest-rated movie in the network’s history.

As a producer, Kristoffer made his debut with the independent feature Mimics, which he also directed. With a deep understanding of story from both sides of the camera, Polaha brings a strong creative voice and market insight to each project. He has worked alongside talent like Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman 1984), Reese Witherspoon, and Colin Firth, and is passionate about supporting character-driven, values-rich narratives with emotional resonance and broad audience appeal.

Tara Hotchkis — Executive Producer
Tara Hotchkis is a Sundance alum and Executive Producer known for backing bold, emotionally resonant films with strong artistic vision. In 2025 alone, three of Tara’s projects were featured at Slamdance – Muted (writer/producer), Chasers (executive producer), and Tacocunr (development producer)—with Chasers also world-premiering at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Muted went on to win Best Sci-Fi Short at the Milan Indie Film Fest.

Tara began her career under Emmy-winning director Walter C. Miller on high-profile productions like the GRAMMYs and People’s Choice Awards before joining Sony Pictures Entertainment, where she worked on marketing campaigns for major films including Spider-Man and Men in Black.

With a background that spans studio systems and the independent film world, Tara brings both business strategy and creative insight to the projects she champions. She holds an MBA from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, a BA from UC Irvine, and completed UCLA’s Professional Screenwriting Program.

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Contact

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