IN DEVELOPMENT
MORNINGSTAR PICTURES
Catholic movies produced at the parish level for general audience theatrical release. A cinematic effort of the New Evangelization. Beginning Summer 2012.
The first project...
HIGHER LEARNING
-- While studying journalism at an American Ivy League university, David Bissette (23), a devout young ex-soldier from a humble farm family, meets and falls in love with Sarah Preston (19), a young woman raised in a very hip, self-empowered world of new social elites. They find redemption and true intimacy through their struggle to persue truth in love. Along with an unlikely friend, Professor Richard James (35), a quirky untenured art-history teacher who believes in the importance of religious freedom in the classroom, together they face a hostile relativistic faculty who plot their downfall.IN PRODUCTION
MAGDALENE
This feature length docudrama produced for general non-religious cable network release, sets the record straight by telling the real story of Mary Magdalene as found in scripture and tradition. Filmed in France and Italy, the film follows in the footsteps of the saint, reliving her repentance for sin, her contemplation of Jesus in the light of her sister Martha's action, her experience of her brother Lazarus being raised from the dead, her witness of Christ's death and resurrection, and her call to be forever the apostle to all apostles. The film drawing on the 2000-year living tradition of France, follows Magdalene, when after the Crucifixion, she flees persecution in the Judaic desert to travel to France with Martha, Lazarus, Mary Salome, Mary Cleophas and others.
Viewers will retrace their story from the shrine on the Mediterranean beach where they landed, to the sacred tombs where they were laid to rest, and where ever since their lives have been celebrated by the local people. Contemporary saints and scholars present the authentic story of Magdalene and uncover the secret agenda behind the lies of the modern Gnostic authors and producers of Holy Blood, Holy Grail and The Da Vinci Code.
IN RELEASE
SAINTS ALIVE!
-- Wins 2012 Gabriel® Award for Best Religious Television Program in National Release
An award winning television series featuring 10 of the great saints of history who return from heaven to The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury, Connecticut. There they offer inspired answers to some of the most pressing questions of our troubled age. Their saintly lives span the two thousand year history of the Church. A dedicated repertory group of talented actors bring alive these heroes for hard times and share with us their perennial wisdom.The saints are welcomed to town by Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney, the founder of the Knights of Columbus. He leads them to the parish into which he was born and where he learned to live his Catholic faith. Saints included in the series are: Irenaeus of Lyons, Augustine of Hippo, Robert Bellarmine, Teresa of Avila, Jean Marie Vianney, Gemma Galgani, Thomas Aquinas, Louis Marie de Montfort, Catherine of Siena, and Gregory the Great.
The series of half-hour programs is hosted by its producer/writer Richard J. Payne, President of Arcadia Films, and the Founding Editor in Chief of The Classics of Western Spirituality. 11 Episodes, Broadcast on EWTN.
EUCHARIST
Following up on the hugely popular weekly half-hour series Parable, and produced again for EWTN, Global Catholic Network, the young people return to Blessed Sacrament Monastery. This time their retreat is devoted to the meaning of the Holy Eucharist in their lives. They dialogue on the scriptural words of Jesus Christ in which he shares the significance of his real presence in the Eucharistic sacrifice. Programs devoted to the Last Supper, Loaves and Fishes, The Cross of Calvary, Bread of Life, Emmaus, Passover are designed to draw young people into a communion with Christ's real presence in the Eucharist. Through lively discussions, and powerful dramatic presentations of the saints (performed by professional actors), Fr. Mariusz Koch, CFR, leads a group of vibrant young adults in a series of illuminating meditations on the mysteries of the Most Holy Eucharist. Each episode reflects on the gift of the Eucharist in light of a different Scriptural reading. 30 Episodes, 30 minutes each, Broadcast on EWTN.
PARABLE
The highly acclaimed thirty half-hour weekly prime time series for youth, produced in docudrama format for broadcast by EWTN, Global Catholic Network (120 million homes worldwide). Twenty young people go on retreat with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal at their Blessed Sacrament Monastery, an oasis of peace, solitude and prayer, set within a bombed out ghetto of Newark, New Jersey. There they dialogue on the parables of Jesus in light of their own experience. Into the retreat come twenty-four saints of history including Augustine, Teresa of Avila, Bernard of Clairvaux, Catherine of Siena (played masterfully by professional stage and screen actors from New York and Hollywood). In the saints' own words, they dramatically reflect on the meaning of Christ's own words for our moral and spiritual life. Into the retreat also come four contemporary spiritual masters, priests who share their own contemplative insights into parables such as the Sower, Prodigal Son, Good Samaritan, Treasure and Pearl, Wicked Husbandman, etc...
The series is designed to bring its youthful viewers into a personal encounter with Jesus in and through his inspired word. Filmed on location at the Most Blessed Sacrament Monastery in Newark, New Jersey, this series explores the often mysterious, always striking parables of Our Lord. Fr. Mariusz Koch, CFR leads an energetic troupe of young adults in a lively discussion about the parables and how we can apply their wisdom in our lives. 30 Episodes, 30 minutes each, Broadcast on EWTN.
SAINT SPEAK
A series of spiritual mini-movies. Journey to heaven and encounter one of the great saints of history as they share "in their own words" the meaning of Eucharist, Repentance and Holy Mary. 40 Episodes, Broadcast on EWTN.
MADONNA HOUSE: The People of the Towel & Water (2002)
A feature length documentary on the story of Madonna House, an apostolate in the Catholic Church, its founders and members, "the people of the towel and water." It explores their day to day experience and their fearless witness in the world.
A testimony to life's true potential, the film reveals the amazingly graced realities that lie hidden, waiting to be discovered within each sacred moment of our lives. Welcome to Madonna House, enjoy a slice of its restored and renewed life - a life of prayer and worship, work and rest.55 minutes in length, Broadcast on EWTN.
PRIESTS FOR LIFE
Filmed on location on two continents, this promotional doc tells the story and pro-life global mission of Fr. Frank Pavone's Priests for life.
JESUS LIVING IN MARY: The Spirituality of St. Louis Marie de Montfort (2001)
JESUS LIVING IN MARY: The Life of St. Louis Marie de Montfort (1997)
A richly detailed, 90-minute docudrama on the life and times of the great Marian Apostle. Shot on location in France, this portrait of the legendary mystic, preacher and writer includes reenactments of his life and interviews with experts on his spirituality.
Created as a video companion to the printed handbook on the spirituality of St. Louis de Montfort, for which Richard Payne also served as Managing Editor, this production has become a classic for all ages. 90 minutes. Broadcast on EWTN.