Paulist Productions was founded in 1960 by the Paulist priest Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser to produce the religious television program Insight. Paulist Pictures was later formed for the purpose of film production, creating the features Romero and . Kieser was regarded as a champion of Roman Catholic heroes and entertainment that focuses on modern moral dilemma. After the death of Kieser in September 2000, Frank Desiderio C.S.P. became President of Paulist Productions and broadened the scope of the company 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 filmJudas which aired on ABC and was written by multi-Emmy Award winning writer/producer Tom Fontana, who also served as executive producer on the film. In its 50 years of existence Paulist Productions has produced over 500 hours of award-winning documentaries, feature films, television, and TV movies 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. In a time of rapid change and declining options for family viewing, Paulist is dedicated to developing positive programming with meaningful content. 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. Recent productions include The Town That Came A-Courtin and Christmas for a Dollar for UpTV, the short Christmas movieNo Ordinary Shepherd, and the CBS special A New York Christmas to Remember, featuring Regis Philbin and the nativity puppetry of Jane Henson. Paulist released the short filmHe Knows My Name earlier this year and recently finished production on the feature filmThe Miracle Maker. The Humanitas Prize founded in 1974 was created by Bud Kieser and the men and women of Paulist Productions. On September 8, 2015 Deadline Hollywood reported that publisher Author Solutions made a first-look deal with Paulist.
