A Still Small Voice

Director Luke Lorentzen expected to attend.

Mati is an aspiring chaplain on track to finish her yearlong residency in the spiritual care department at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She offers emotional support and care to patients wrestling with uncertainty, trauma and grief. And she is doing so in 2020 and 2021, the two deadliest years in US history. Finding balance becomes Mati’s daily fight, especially when, as her supervisor Reverend David puts it, “if your bandwidth is stretched, you don’t have the room inwardly to metabolize the harder stuff that comes at you.” It’s no surprise that Mati herself needs support and guidance, as does her supervisor, and his supervisor. What does spiritual care look like when everything around you seems broken? Luke Lorentzen (US Documentary Directing Award at Sundance, 2023) proves himself to be a deeply respectful and empathetic chronicler of human emotion. Thoughtfully inquisitive, Lorentzen is unafraid of intimacy, yet always careful not to trespass anyone’s boundaries with his camera. A Still Small Voice is a meditation on faith, loss and professional sustainability, that finds hope and meaning in seemingly hopeless situations.

Winner of the 2023 Momentum Award from the Jewish Film Institute and Jewish Story Partners

Bay Area Premiere

Luke Lorentzen is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and a graduate of Stanford University's Department of Art and Art History. His most recent film, A Still Small Voice, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it won the U.S. Documentary Best Director Award. His previous film, Midnight Family, has won over 35 awards from film festivals and organizations around the world including a Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival, Best Editing from the International Documentary Association, and the Golden Frog for Best Documentary from Camerimage. Midnight Family was shortlisted for the 2020 Best Documentary Oscar and was a New York Times ‘Critics’ Pick’. Luke’s other work as a director and cinematographer includes the Netflix original series, Last Chance U, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Serialized Sports Documentary in 2020. With Kellen Quinn, Luke is a co-founder of the independent production company Hedgehog Films.

Co-sponsored by Vicki Abeles and Alexander Germanacos and Courtney Malachowski

Schedule

Director(s)
Country(ies)
Language(s)
Release Year
Festival Year(s)
Running Time
93
Producer(s)
Cinematographer(s)
Editor(s)
Participants

All-Festival Pass

$345 Members / $395 General Public

The best way to explore SFJFF in style. The All Festival Pass gives you priority entry to every moment of SFJFF43 at every venue, including Special Presentations, regular screenings, and online. Become a JFI member at the Patron level and receive an All Festival Pass in addition to a year's worth of member benefits!

Purchase