With humor and searing insight, director Penny Lane debunks misrepresentations about the Satanic Temple. Drawing on extensive access to the organization’s participants, this unflinching examination reveals the controversial religious movement’s aim to shine a light on the hypocrisy around America’s separation of church and state. Passionate testimony from the group’s members, who are prone to public misunderstanding, illustrates organizing principles of equality, empathy, justice, and activism. When a statue of the Ten Commandments is built on public grounds in Oklahoma, the Satanic Temple intelligently argues that it’s only fair to put the goat-headed deity Baphomet alongside it, if Christianity is allowed such prominent promotion. The Ten Commandments statue comes down. Leading the movement is affable and level-headed co-founder Lucien Greaves, who must balance an increasing number of violent threats with rapidly growing interest in the movement. Following Greaves’s unwavering commitment to social and political justice, this thought-provoking film details the rise of a charming group of outsiders who challenge the murky, religion-tinted actions of U.S. political establishments.  KR

Filmmaker Q&A following screening