Portraits of the Call
“Portraits of the Call” is a 2023 documentary I produced highlighting different Catholic vocations in life, intended to be used as an educational tool for presentations and events by the Diocese of Lansing’s Vocations team. It involved filming in many places, from inner-city Flint, Michigan, to New York City to film with the Sisters of Life in their Hell’s Kitchen convent.
Snippets of the film, posted on the Diocese’s social media channels for National Vocations Awareness Week, caught the attention of international Catholic media outlet, Aleteia, which wrote a piece on the clips titled, “All young Catholics should watch these inspiring vocation stories.”
The project won a 2024 Michigan Regional Emmy Award in the Religion category, as well as Silver recognition in the 45th annual Telly Awards. It was also cited as a primary contributor to my selection as the 2024 Cardinal John Foley Award winner by the Catholic Media Association.
-
![]()
Accepting the Emmy Award for "Portraits of the Call"
-
![]()
With the Cardinal John P. Foley Award, won partially for "Portraits of the Call"
Similar projects:
-
"God, at the Pentagon" 9/11 Anniversary Documentary
Because of the Diocese of Arlington's unique geographic location adjacent to the nation's capital, the 20th anniversary of 9/11 in 2021 was a major occasion for the Diocese to commemorate. The terrorist attack at the Pentagon happened within our Diocese, and many parishioners still bear first-hand memories of that day.
I pitched the idea for, directed, filmed, edited, and interviewed the subjects for this short, inspiring documentary film, which was completed in partnership with multimedia producer Jim Salitsky. We told both the stories of priestly heroics on that day as well as the power of our Catholic faith in the face of tragedy. Using historical records and news articles, we were able to source subjects and capture the story of how one “moves forward” without “moving on” from loved ones. This project also involved complicated logistics managing permissions to film on government installations (The Pentagon) during COVID times.
The video received widespread attention and mentions in outlets including Aleteia and EWTN. I was interviewed by Teresa Tomeo on Ave Maria Radio Network about my experiences producing the film. The film was recognized as a 1st-place award-winner in multiple categories by the Catholic Media Association.
-
Diocese of Lansing Priestly Ordinations 2023
When I started working at the Diocese of Lansing, one of the things I really wanted to produce was a cinematic Ordination recap, similar to what the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and others have produced for many years. I find it particularly inspirational to give justice to these men who are devoting their entire lives to serving the Church in this way. I see it as similar to a wedding film but more sacred and holy (not that weddings aren’t sacred as well!). This particular Ordination was made all the more special because, midway through being vested, new priest Father Seamus Kettner began weeping tears of joy (which I happened to catch on my Tascam DR-10L I had wired the guys with beforehand). The moment was very inspirational to those who witnessed, and this video has been viewed well over 10,000 times across the diocesan platforms. It also received a 1st place win in the “Best Ordination Video” category at the 2024 Catholic Media Awards.