From prolific queer filmmaker Francois Ozon (Criminal Lovers, 8 Women, Swimming Pool, Double Lover, Frantz), By the Grace of God is the true story of three adult men – Alexandre (Melvil Poupaud), Francois (Denis Menochet) and Emmanuel (Swann Arlaud) – who banded together to expose the code of silence that continued to enable a priest who abused them as boys.
The three men will go to great lengths to denounce the perpetrator and the institution that has always protected him, a risky endeavor that will endanger the relationships with their loved ones, as well as compromise their own fragile selves. The true story upon which the film is based is an ongoing scandal in France, with Philippe Barbarin, Cardinal of Lyon, convicted in March 2019 for concealing the conduct of Father Preynat.