In God We Trust
At the crossroads between the streets and the churches of San Francisco, In God We Trust follows the intimate journeys of Dawn, Tony, Terry and Harry as they fight to forge their place in a city ravaged by inequalities and for whom “God” has become the ultimate companion.
The film weaves together the personal stories of these four characters, capturing their complex relationship to religion, to faith, conveying the energy that allows them to "rise from the ashes", to transform in the midst of challenging life situations. In their own way, each of our protagonists are figures of resistance and claim to be so. They refuse the place the society assigns them to. They yearn for recognition, for love, they want to be part of civic life, religious life. Their intimate inner voices are the pillars of the narration and they guide the audience through the film.
The film starts at the church where all characters meet. There, “Killer Kelly '' who identifies as a Black trans woman found a refuge and became “Miss Terry” after a life in the streets of San Francisco. She now facilitates support groups for the disenfranchised alongside Reverend Harry. Both of them are Dawn’s and Tony’s mentors: these two are unhoused and come to their church to eat, sing and to find support. Dawn engages in a fight and a spiritual journey to get her children back, whose custody was lost to drugs. In the meantime, Tony who just arrived in town builds his life from the ground up, rapidly achieving milestones with his housing search, trauma healing process and civic advocacy efforts. “Don’t let your situation define your existence in this world!” shouts Terry in a husky voice. “You are somebody !” Harry repeats relentlessly. But behind their determination, Terry and Harry both deeply question their place and the meaning of their work in a religious institution setting. They decide to turn their backs to the Church they served for years and venture on new paths to reinvent themselves. Reverend Harry aka “O.G—Original Gangster—Rev” defines himself as a “hood preacher” committed to serve the poor. His preaching, well applauded in the streets, is less so in the upper class pews of the Sunday sanctuary where he appears as a pariah of the church. “ How can I be a pastor without a church ?” wonders Reverend Harry. He takes a chance working for a local grassroot non-profit in Oakland before creating his own ministry venture involving hip hop. Meanwhile, Terry decides to embark on a deeply personal journey of self: he retreats far from the church to quieter places and starts a mediation at the crossroads of faith, transgender identity and overcoming one’s past: what will become of “Miss Terry” who was given a place in a church when she had lost everything else? When Tony suddenly disappears from the city, Dawn, Terry and Harry are brought back together to mourn his loss and speak up for the recognition of those who live and die on the streets.
A film by: Laetitia Jacquart & Corinne Sullivan
