Paulist Productions
Paulist Productions is a Catholic film production company founded in 1960 by the Paulist priest Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser. The company has produced over 500 hours of award-winning documentaries, feature films, television and made-to-TV films addressing pressing social issues and important moral questions. Paulist has generated a range of programming for CBS, The History Channel, Hallmark Hall of Fame and UPtv, collaborating with industry names such as Martin Sheen, William Shatner and the Jim Henson Company. The company is currently headed by Chris Donahue, formerly of Shephard/Robin, and Marybeth Sprows, formerly of Imagine Television , with the mission to produce film and television at the intersection of faith and culture. History. The original purpose of the company was to produce the religious television program "Insight". In 1974, the Humanitas Prize was founded by Bud Kieser and the men and women of Paulist Productions. Paulist Pictures was later formed for the purpose of film production, creating the features "Romero" (1989) and "" (1996). Kieser was regarded as a champion of Roman Catholic heroes and entertainment that focuses on modern moral dilemma. After Kieser's death in September 2000, Frank Desiderio, C.S.P. became president of the company. He  broadened the scope to produce television documentaries for the History Channel, including "Visions of Mary", "Stigmata", "Prophecies of Iraq", "Judas - Traitor or Friend", "Joseph: The Silent Saint", "The Twelve Apostles", "St. Peter: The Rock" and "Paul, the Apostle". "Healing and Prayer: Power or Placebo" was also produced for A&E. In 2004, Paulist Productions released the made-for-television film "Judas" which aired on ABC and was written by multi-Emmy Award winning writer/producer Tom Fontana, who also served as executive producer. Later productions include "The Town That Came A-Courtin" and "Christmas for a Dollar" for UpTV, the short  Christmas film "No Ordinary Shepherd", and the CBS special "A New York Christmas to Remember", featuring Regis Philbin and the nativity puppetry of Jane Henson. Paulist also released the short film "He Knows My Name" and finished production on the feature film "The Miracle Maker". On September 8, 2015, "Deadline Hollywood" reported that publisher Author Solutions (an imprint of Penguin) made a first-look deal with Paulist. In 2020, a documentary film, "Fr. Bud: Hollywood Priest", was announced.