‘Weed nuns’ in Merced County have a rooting interest in the Oscars. Here’s why
A group of women living on a small property just outside of Merced will have a rooting interest in Sunday’s 98th Academy Awards.
The famous “weed nuns” of the Sisters of the Valley convent will be watching to see if Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” takes home the Oscar for best picture. The film is nominated in 13 categories, including best director (Anderson) and best actor (Leonardo DiCaprio).
Based on the 1990 Thomas Pynchon novel “Vineland,” “One Battle After Another” stars DiCaprio as a former revolutionary who must rescue his daughter when she is kidnapped by his old nemesis, according to the official film synopsis. The movie was partly filmed in Northern California and the Sacramento area in early 2024, according to The Sacramento Bee.
So what does Merced County’s renowned group of marijuana-growing nuns have to do with the 2025 black comedy action-thriller?
Anderson, who wrote and directed the film, based part of it on the Sisters of the Valley. Part of the movie’s plot involves the daughter hiding out with a group of “weed nuns” called the “Sisters of the Brave Beaver.”
The fictional group is based on Merced County’s Sisters of the Valley, who grow cannabis, sell CBD products and advocate for marijuana’s medicinal use.
Sisters of the Valley convent has been featured before
The sisters — who are not Catholic nuns, but are instead Beguine revivalists — have been the focus of articles in some of the world’s largest publications. They’ve also been the subject of a 2018 documentary, “Breaking Habits.”
Anderson and producer Florencia Martin visited Merced County to scout the sisters’ farm as a possible filming location, according to High Times reporter Hernán Panessi.
That didn’t work, so the scenes involving the weed nuns were shot at La Purísima Mission State Historic Park in Lompoc.
According to an article on the Sisters of the Valley website, some of the nuns served as extras during filming.
A post on the sisters’ Instagram page featured a shoutout to the success of “One Battle After Another”:
“Congratulations to Paul Thomas Anderson! The action, the filming, the dialogue and the music all come together to make it an unforgettable film. If you haven’t seen it yet, well, all I can say is ‘what are you waiting for?’ “
Will ‘One Battle After Another’ win the Oscar?
“One Battle After Another” won awards for best comedy or musical, best director, best screenplay and best supporting actress at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards show in December in Los Angeles.
According to Polymarket’s Oscars odds, “One Battle After Another” has a 76% chance to win Best Picture.
“Sinners,” which also has a Central Valley connection, has the next best chance at 21%. The director of that film, Ryan Coogler, attended Sacramento State.
This story was originally published March 9, 2026 at 6:00 AM.
