‘Hunky Jesus’ review: BFI Flare opener is raucous portrait of San Francisco’s Nuns Of Perpetual Indulgence

Dir: Jennifer M. Kroot. US. 2026. 85mins

Every Easter Sunday since 1999, San Francisco’s Delores Park has played host to a thousands-strong community celebration run by a beloved chapter of local nuns. But this is not your average religious event. Overseen by the longstanding LGBTQ+ advocacy group Nuns Of Perpetual Indulgence, the rowdy get-together features drag performances, pole-dances and the infamous Foxy Mary and Hunky Jesus competitions.Jennifer M. Kroot’s raucous, joyful documentary is structured around the 2023 event, but also delves deeper to explore the roots of this long-standing sisterhood and the impact it has had on the community and beyond.

Individual stories and shared experiences strike a real chord

Kroot previously won Sundance’s Audience Award in 2017 for her documentary The Untold Tales Of Armistead Maupin, about the pioneering author and gay rights activist, and has made other LGBTQ+-theme shorts and features, including 2022’s Gay Men Get Real! Covid In Our Community. Her understanding of these issues informs the inquisitive, balanced Hunky Jesus, which should go down a storm as the opening film of London’s BFI Flare. Its flamboyant protagonists and universal themes, together with its sensitive probing of faith, also has the potential to make an impact beyond LGBTQ+ audiences.

There are some viewers, however, who may take issue with the artistic religious interpretation on display here – including ‘Polesexual’, a sexually charged pole dance on a cross with a loin-clothed ‘Jesus’ and a stiletto-heel wearing man in Mary drag, which went viral. Crucially, Kroot is careful to include criticism and dissenting voices, both in the form of clips of incensed right-wing commentators – “All of the Catholic ladies should be aroused by this”, froths a Minnesota bishop in an amusing faux pas – and talking heads with religious figures, including Father Daniel Godfrey of the University Of San Fransisco. While largely positive about the sisters’ overall message, concerns are raised about the sexualisation of religious faith and the perpetuation of gay stereotypes.

But the overwhelming atmosphere on display here is one of joy and the non-judgmental embracing of one’s fellow humans – whatever they believe, and however they choose to express themselves. Footage from the 2023 event shows a sea of attendees from all walks of life; Kroot and her team roam the field, taking in the colour, noise and energy, and capturing a vibrant, infectious and notably diverse community spirit.

For many of the attendees, however, the sisters offer much more than this single day of celebration. Through archive footage and talking head interviews with the gloriously-named Nuns – including Sister Vish Knew, Sister Roma, Sister Flora Goodthyme and Sister Dana Iniquity – Kroot traces the beginnings of the sisterhood back to 1979, when Sister Vish and a couple of friends strode through the city streets in nuns’ habits. They were joined by like-minded men, and the group strengthened during the early, frightening years of the AIDS epidemic. Then, as now, the Nuns of Perpetual Indulgence provided San Francisco’s gay community with information, support, advocacy and companionship, a lifeline for those who had been shunned by their friends, colleagues and families.

The order has evolved and adapted over the years: they have since organised protests – such as when the homophobic Pope Benedict XVI was due to visit the city in 198 – and perform vital charity work, including donating wigs to cancer patients and staging donation drives for refugees. They have a legion of allies, including Star Trek actor George Tapei and performer and activist Honey Mahogany (who co-hosts the Easter celebration and appears in an interview). Chapters of the order now exist in over 50 US cities and 40 countries.

Within this impressive group, individual stories and shared experiences strike a real chord. Several of the nuns speak about growing up gay in traditional religious backgrounds – Catholic, Presbyterian, Amish Mennonite – and finding there was no space for them to be their true selves, or facing banishment or punishment when they tried. Others recall conversion therapy and suicidal thoughts, and the sense of salvation and freedom in finding a home amongst the sisters.

Interestingly, too, some speak of an enduring faith, one that may not be traditional or follow established rules, but is nevertheless inspired by familiar religious tenets of service and care for one’s fellow man (or, as the Nuns say, “Amen, Awomen and all the others”). For all their headline-grabbing extravagance and fabulous style, The Nuns Of Perpetual Indulgence are driven by the very simple, very human motivations of love, pride and acceptance.