The Christophers have announced their 72nd annual awards, and we're proud to have our film PRAY: THE STORY OF PATRICK PEYTON on the list of honorees.
Founded in 1949 by Maryknoll Father James Keller, M.M., the mission of the Christophers, as the organization's statement says, is to "empower people from all walks of life to realize they have a God-given purpose that belongs to no one else but them."
Father Keller also founded the awards, to salute media that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit.”
Click HERE for the full list of this year's awards, but below find the TV and film winners.
TV, Cable and Streaming
ABC World News Tonight With David Muir and Nightline: The Children of Auschwitz: Survivors of the Nazi death camp return to the site with the families, on the 75th anniversary of the camp's liberation.
Black Patriots: Heroes of the Revolution (History/A&E Networks): Kareem Abdul-Jabbar presents interviews about African-Americans who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
Bravery and Hope: 7 Days on the Front Line: CBS News journalists document medical personnel, patients and families struggling with the pandemic in one Bronx neighborhood.
Broken Places (PBS): Documentary explores why some childhood trauma destroys some, while others thrive and move beyond it.
Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square (Netflix): Parton sings the role of a sparkly angel in her original musical about a Scrooge-like woman confronting a choice from the past in her hometown. Click HERE to find out how much I liked it.
extraORDINARY: The Bill Atkinson Story (PBS): Chronicle of one man's efforts to become the first quadriplegic ordained as a Catholic priest.
Feature Films
Clouds (Disney+): The fact-inspired tale of a 17-year-old who pursues his musical dreams despite having terminal cancer.
PRAY: THE STORY OF PATRICK PEYTON: As the Christophers press release says, our film "profiles the priest whose gratitude for a miraculous healing led him to create a media ministry that popularized the life-changing idea, 'The family that prays together stays together.'" That about sums it up! Click HERE to see what Father Donald Calloway had to say to me about it; and HERE to learn how it defied the odds.
“On behalf of all the people who worked on the film, I want to express our gratitude to the Christophers, for recognizing PRAY with this prestigious award,” said Father David Guffey, C.S.C., National Director of Family Theater Productions and the executive producer of PRAY. “We made the film in the hope that audiences find in it a way to deepen their prayer lives and bring them closer to God and others.”
Sky Blossom: Diaries of the Next Greatest Generation (Sky Blossom Films): Profiles selfless young people, ages 11-26, who care for family members with illness or wartime injuries.
The Way Back (Warner Bros. Pictures): Ben Affleck stars as a hard-drinking former Catholic-high-school basketball star in blue-collar San Pedro, California, who accepts a priest's invitation to coach at his alma mater. Click HERE to see what I thought about it.
Image: Netflix/Family Theater Productions/Warner Bros.
Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Manager at Family Theater Productions.
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