People (and I include myself in this) complain a lot about the quality of Catholic media … often with good cause.
There are many of reasons for this, but a major one is budget. There aren’t too many big-money backers circling out there to fund Catholic film and TV projects (frankly, there aren’t a lot of big-money backers even for most secular film and TV projects); those donors that exist are giving their money to the Church to support it, along with its schools and social programs; and there’s really not much hope of profit.
But as I’ve often said — and I began my Patheos blog, Pax Culturati, to talk about this — no one in media gives you anything, so sometimes, you’ve just got to do it for yourself. Young twin brothers (actually two-thirds of triplets, along with a sister) who are also consecrated Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFRs), with the help of their family, are doing just that.
Having cut their TV teeth on EWTN’s “Sunday Night Prime,” along with the show’s regular host — and CFR founder — the late Father Benedict Groeschel, Brothers Angelus (the one with the glasses above) and Innocent have decided up the ante on Catholic productions.
Speaking to Catholic News Agency (CNA), Angelus said:
Catholic media is really irrelevant right now to a lot of young people. That’s a dramatic statement, but it’s true. So, we wanted to wrestle with that question and wrestle with the reality that Catholic media is irrelevant to a lot of young people today.
He continued:
If it’s not high-quality, young people aren’t going to be interested. They’re used to secular media; they’re used to secular TV shows; they’re used to the Internet. So, we want to tell people’s stories, but we also wanted it to be the highest quality we could, so that people couldn’t write the show off.
To that end, they’re planning to launch “Icons,” a documentary series that profiles young people who, as Angelus told CNA, “are icons in the world. They reveal Christ in their relationships, in their work, in their vocations, in the family, whatever they do.”
“Icons” is owned and produced by the Live Greater Foundation, a nonprofit outgrowth of the brothers’ Live Greater movement, established why they were in the friary. With the help of family members, who are involved in the foundation, the brothers are currently raising money in hopes of beginning production late this year.
Click here to read the rest of CNA’s story, which goes into the brothers’ goals and hopes for the project and the Faith among the young, and here to either nominate someone to be on the show, or to offer support.
After all, parents buy their kids a lot of fancy electronics, shouldn’t some money go to ensure there’s something worth watching on them?
Here are a couple of video previews:
ICONS: Why Real People. Real Presence? from On My Mind Productions on Vimeo.
And
Image: Courtesy IconsTV