It’s 1926, and to the dismay of her many followers, the celebrated evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson has drowned in the Pacific Ocean. At least, that’s what’s been reported. In reality, Sister Aimee faked her death, and now she’s headed for Mexico with her married lover, Kenny. Despite posing as an everyday, married couple, Aimee’s notoriety makes it difficult to travel unnoticed, especially as speculation abounds among her abandoned flock and the LAPD grows increasingly skeptical. When Rey, the tough, mysterious woman hired to smuggle them over the border sparks a new fire in Aimee, the pious performer finds herself drawn to a whole new calling.

A riotous mix of character study and perilous road movie—with elements of screwball comedy and the occasional musical number—Sister Aimee follows this larger-than-life woman’s adventure. Writer-directors Samantha Buck and Marie Schlingmann based their first feature, which premiered at Sundance, on a real-life incident, and gleefully embellish Sister Aimee’s story with modern sensibility and an eye towards exploring gender politics, religion, rebellion, and the power of being the one who tells the story.