Films

The 1990s and early 2000s saw an explosion of new music that reshaped the industry, including the rise of Contemporary Christian Music, a genre that grew into a billion-dollar enterprise. Its biggest stars pull back the curtain on a world full of toxicity and control. Artists weren’t just expected to deliver hit songs, they were molded into evangelical role models, and their lives scrutinized.  

Three of its prominent artists, Nikki Leonti, Michael Passons, and Jennifer Knapp, stepped outside those boundaries and were cast out from the world they helped build. Their once-silenced stories now reveal what it was like inside an industry that turned faith into profit.

Discussion with director Jason Ikeler, producer Whitney Fern, and film subject Michael Passons.

Followed by a brief musical performance by Michael Passons, founding member of the band Avalon.