By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Assistant Editor Wednesday, March 18, 2026

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When filmmaker Rick Altizer completed the 2021 documentary
"Show Me the Father," he knew the story of fatherhood had only begun to be told.

The film, produced by "War Room" filmmaking duo the Kendrick Brothers, explored the impact of fathers through several men’s stories. But even during production, Altizer said he sensed another perspective was missing: the voices of daughters.

“I was filming ‘Show Me the Father,’ and I kept saying, ‘We have to do this for women,’” Altizer told The Christian Post during a sit-down interview at the NRB Convention back in February. “That was five years ago, while we were making that film.”

The idea eventually became “He Calls Me Daughter,” a documentary exploring how father-daughter relationships shape a woman’s identity, faith and sense of worth. The film is set to debut in theaters nationwide on March 17–18 through Fathom Entertainment.

Altizer said the project began after a season of prayer and seeking direction following the release of “Show Me the Father.” During that time, he said he sensed a clear calling to pursue a film focused on women and the impact of fatherhood.

“As soon as a director finishes a film, he’s unemployed,” Altizer said with a laugh. “So I was asking God, ‘What am I supposed to do now?’”

“I felt the Lord say, ‘I want you to do this for women,’” Altizer said. “And my response was, ‘How is that possible? I’m a guy. How am I going to do this?’ But I felt the Lord say, ‘I’ve given you everything you need. Go do it.’”

According to Altizer, funding and participants soon followed.

“I never asked a human being for money,” he said. “Donors came and funded the production completely.”

As the project developed, several well-known voices joined the film, including filmmaker Alex Kendrick, comedian Chonda Pierce, author Meg Meeker, Lynsi Snyder, CEO of In-N-Out Burger, and Rachelle Starr, whose ministry works with women in the adult entertainment industry.

“Someone told me, ‘You need to talk to Rachelle Starr,’” Altizer said. “And when I heard about her ministry, it became the centerpiece of the film.”

Starr founded Scarlet Hope in 2007. The organization regularly visits strip clubs across the United States, bringing meals and offering support to women working in the industry.

"We go into the darkest places to meet women in the adult entertainment industry where they are — bringing the light of Christ and walking with them toward freedom across the nation," notes the ministry website.

“For almost 19 years now, we’ve been going into strip clubs every week,” Starr told CP. “We’ve served about 2 million meals and walked alongside thousands of women.”

Through that work, Starr said she has repeatedly encountered the deep emotional wounds the film seeks to address.

“When Rick shared what he wanted to do with the film, to bring light to father wounds and the redemption side of things, I immediately connected with that,” she said. “I’ve been seeing this for almost two decades in ministry.”

According to Starr, many women in the adult entertainment industry are trying to fill a void left by painful relationships with their fathers. One of the stories featured in the film follows a woman named Priscilla, whom Starr met through her ministry and mentored for several years.

“Our culture tries to mask those wounds and fill them with all sorts of things,” she said. “But that wound can ultimately only be healed by the Father through Jesus.”

“Priscilla didn’t even realize she had a father wound at first,” Starr said. “But when she started trying to understand the Bible and God as Father, she had to wrestle with her own earthly father wounds.”

The journey toward faith was not immediate, Starr said. For years, Priscilla resisted the idea of God altogether. Starr continued meeting with her regularly, building trust over time.

“When I would say ‘God loves you’ or ‘Jesus loves you,’ she wanted nothing to do with that,” Starr said. “She would say, ‘Don’t call God a father. I don’t want anything to do with that.’”

“Week after week, we just kept showing up,” she said. “We’d have lunch, coffee, conversations. She tested me. She asked hard questions.”

Altizer said that the long-term relational approach reflects the deeper mission behind both the film and Starr’s ministry.

“Many women with father wounds don’t feel seen, valued or heard,” he said. “So creating a safe place for their stories was essential.”

To do that, Altizer relied on a conversational approach during interviews, avoiding scripts or detailed notes. The director said he was struck by how quickly many participants opened up once they felt heard.

“We just sit face-to-face and talk,” he said. “The goal is to make them forget the cameras are there and let them tell their story. … Some women need time to warm up. But others, like Lynsi Snyder and Priscilla, were ready to share immediately. It was incredible.”

Despite the film’s focus on painful experiences, Altizer emphasized that the documentary is not meant to criticize men. Instead, he said the film highlights both the wounds caused by broken relationships and the positive examples of fathers who reflect God’s love.

“A lot of women online have asked if this is going to be man-bashing,” he said. “But it’s not.”

“We also show positive male role models,” Altizer said. “Alex Kendrick talks about honoring and valuing his daughter, and Rachelle’s father is portrayed positively.”

Altizer said he hopes the film serves two audiences: women seeking healing and men who may not fully understand the influence they have on their daughters. He shared how, after early screenings, many fathers responded by reaching out to their daughters.

“For women, this film is about healing,” he said. “But for men, it’s sobering. The first thing a lot of men did after seeing the film was text their daughters and say, ‘We’re OK, right?’” 

“Sometimes dads don’t realize that just listening and being present can make all the difference,” Altizer said. “If they’ve made mistakes, a simple ‘I’m sorry’ can open the door to healing.”

For women struggling to trust God as a father figure because of painful experiences with their own fathers, Starr said the first step toward healing often begins with a safe community. That’s why she encourages women to seek connection within a supportive Christian community.

“You can’t heal from something you don’t name,” she said. “But many women are carrying wounds they’ve never been able to talk about.”

“Often what women need first is a safe place where they can share their story,” Starr said. “When someone shows up consistently with love, that begins to rebuild trust.”

Though it deals with some heavy subject matter, both Starr and Altizer stressed the message of “He Calls Me Daughter” is one of hope. Through faith, Altizer said, women can discover a love that is not defined by the failures of earthly parents.

“There is only one perfect Father,” Altizer said. “And that’s God. … Our identity comes from God. He gives us our worth, our purpose and who we are.”

“He Calls Me Daughter” will debut in theaters nationwide March 17–18 through Fathom Entertainment. Watch the trailer below. 

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/strip-club-ministry-leader-highlights-healing-from-father-wounds.html