Pray Away
Directed by Kristine Stolakis
In this Emmy-nominated documentary, former leaders of the "pray the gay away" movement contend with the aftermath unleashed by their actions, while a survivor seeks healing and acceptance from more than a decade of trauma.
In the 1970s, five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church started a Bible study to help each other leave the "homosexual lifestyle." They quickly received over 25,000 letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus International, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. But leaders struggled with a secret: their own “same-sex attractions” never went away.
After years as superstars in the religious right, many of these men and women have come out as LGBTQ, disavowing the very movement they helped start. Focusing on the dramatic journeys of former conversion therapy leaders, current members, and a survivor, PRAY AWAY chronicles the “ex gay" movement’s rise to power, its unscientific influence, and its legacy of profound harm.
A Netflix Original,
From Executive Producers Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum,
A Multitude Films Production,
In Association with Blumhouse, Lamplighter Films, Naked Edge Films, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Perspective Fund, and Secret Sauce Media.
2021 / 101 MINS
About
the Team
Kristine Stolakis — Director, Producer
Kristine is a documentary film director whose work wrestles with politics, prejudice, and power. Her debut feature PRAY AWAY takes you inside the history and continuation of the “pray the gay away” or ex-gay movement and is a Multitude Films production. It is supported by the Catapult Film Fund, Tribeca Film Institute, Hartley Film Foundation, Chicken & Egg Pictures, and SFFilm. Her directorial debut THE TYPIST (Hot Docs 2015) cracks open the untold story of a closeted Korean War veteran tasked with writing the military dishonorable discharges of outed LGBTQ seamen. It was released by KQED and is currently a Vimeo Staff Pick. WHERE WE STAND (DOC NYC 2015) chronicles a group of Mormon women fighting for equal rights inside their church, and was released by The Atlantic and nominated for a Student BAFTA. She also produced ATTLA (Independent Lens 2019), a co-production of ITVS and Vision Maker Media. Her filmmaking approach is shaped by her background in anthropology, journalism, politics, and community art. She holds an MFA in Documentary Film from Stanford University, where she currently lectures, a BA in Cultural Anthropology from New York University, and has received further training at UC Berkley’s Investigative Reporting Program. She proudly hails from North Carolina and central New York. She is the founder of Lamplighter Films.
Carla Gutierrez — Editor
Carla is the editor of the Oscar-nominated film LA CORONA and the Emmy-nominated documentaries REPORTERO, KINGDOM OF SHADOWS, and FAREWELL FERRIS WHEEL. Her latest film, RBG, about the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and was theatrically released by Magnolia Pictures and Participant Media. RBG has become the highest-grossing film for Magnolia. Carla’s recent film, CHAVELA, premiered at the 2017 Berlinale Film Festival where it won the 2nd place Audience Award in the Panorama section. CHAVELA went on to win both the Audience and Grand Jury Awards at L.A. Outfest, and the Audience Award at Frameline. The film has had a wide theatrical release in Mexico to rave reviews. She also edited WHEN TWO WORLDS COLLIDE, which won a Special Jury Award at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and Best Documentary awards at Docufest, Madrid, Mumbai and Shanghai International Film Festivals. WHEN TWO WORLDS COLLIDE was nominated for a Cinema Eye Honors Award for Outstanding Achievement in Debut Film. Her work has screened at Sundance, Berlinale, IDFA, SXSW, Full Frame, AFI, Los Angeles Film Festival, HotDocs, Ambulante, among other festivals. Her films have broadcast/streamed on HBO, Netflix, Amazon, POV, Independent Lens, the Sundance Channel, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and BBC’s Storyville. Carla has been a creative adviser for the Sundance Edit Lab, and a mentor for the Firelight Producers’ Lab. She received a Masters in Documentary Film from Stanford University.
Melissa Langer — Director of Photography
Melissa is a Philadelphia-based artist and Director of Photography. She recently served as Co-Director of Photography for CHEER, a Netflix docuseries which follows the Navarro College cheerleading team as they prepare to compete in a national championship. She currently serves as Director of Photography for PRAY AWAY and was also a Producer and Cinematographer for ATTLA, a 2019 co-production of Vision Maker Media and ITVS. Her own art practice in experimental/found video and installation work informs her role as a DP, and she will oftentimes use archival cameras alongside her primary camera. She is a Cinema Eye Honors Nominee in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking and her films, including MY ALEPPO, have premiered and won awards at festivals internationally, including Telluride Film Festival, San Francisco Film Festival (New Visions Award), IDFA (ARRI IDFA Best Student Doc), ZagrebDox (Movies that Matter Award), and MoMA’s Doc Fortnight. She is a member of Vox Populi, an artist collective in Philadelphia, as well as SAL Film Group, a small group of filmmakers who contribute time and resources to fellow makers in early stages of development and ideation. She holds an MFA in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford University and a BA in History from Carleton College.
Laura Karpman — Composer
Laura is an award-winning composer and a tireless champion for women in music. With a doctorate from Juilliard, she brings a uniquely vivid, conceptual voice to her body of work that spans film, television, concert halls, theater and video games. The four-time EmmyÒ winner’s previous film and television credits include the Netflix fan-favorite romantic comedy, SET IT UP, Eleanor Coppola’s PARIS CAN WAIT, Francis Ford Coppola’s THE COTTON CLUB ENCORE, Fox Searchlight’s STEP and BLACK NATIVITY, WGN America’s award-winning historical drama series UNDERGROUND, PBS’ Peabody award-winning series CRAFT IN AMERICA, and HBO’s REGARDING SUSAN SONTAG. Across concert halls, Karpman is best known for her GRAMMY Award-winning album, Ask Your Mama, a multimedia opera based on an iconic cycle of poems by Langston Hughes, commissioned by Carnegie Hall. Karpman collaborated with The Roots and opera singer Jessye Norman on the piece. Karpman’s concert music has been commissioned and performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Concordia, the American Composers’ Orchestra, Metropole Orkest, Northwest Sinfonia, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, as well as the Detroit, Houston, National, New York Youth, Richmond, and El Paso Symphonies. In 2014, Karpman founded The Alliance for Women Film Composers; in 2015, she became the third woman inducted into the music branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and one year later, Karpman was elected the first female governor of the music branch.
Myles Markham — Consulting Producer & Impact Producer
Myles has worked for almost a decade in grassroots Christian organizing to advance LGBTQ inclusion and racial justice in evangelical and or conservative churches. Myles is based in Atlanta, Georgia where they are pursuing a Master of Arts in Practical Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary and exploring the role of religion and faith within queer and trans communities of color. Myles loves liberation and postcolonial theologies, exploring their Japanese American/Native Hawai’ian identity, and their most recent work has been helping to coordinate the screening campaign for FLINT: THE POISONING OF AN AMERICAN CITY, a documentary that explores the topic of environmental racism and the critical question of how community poisoning happens in American cities.
Executive Producers
Jason Blum
Jeremy Gold
Marci Wiseman
Mary Lisio
Amanda Spain
Daniel Chalfen
Jim Butterworth
Katy Drake Bettner
Johnny Symons
Julie Parker Benello
Patty Quillin
Nion McEvoy
Leslie Berriman
Regina K. Scully
Producers
Jess Devaney
Anya Rous
Co-Producer
Lisa Valencia-Svensson
Co-Executive Producers
David Lee
Janet Tittiger
Jenn Lee Smith
Geralyn White Dreyfous
Associate Producers
Colleen Cassingham
Paulette Marte
Ryan White
Production Assistants
Jot Sahi
Ariell Lawrence
Sasha Leitman
Weston McFarlin
Alexa Ard
Archival Producer
Erin Chisholm
Associate Editor
Grace Mendenhall
