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Family Theater Productions

 Founded in 1947 by Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., in Hollywood, California, Family Theater Productions has produced more than 1,000 media programs including radio, television, film, and video aimed at strengthening families through prayer. Get to know the Creative and Executive teams of the film, PRAY: THE STORY OF PATRICK PEYTON, which centers around the importance of family prayer and the worldwide legacy of our company’s founder. 

 

 

Meet the Creative Team

Megan Harrington, Producer, Co-Writer

Megan Harrington, Producer, Co-Writer,

Megan Harrington is a Senior Producer at Family Theater Productions, overseeing the management of production on various films. Her passion is telling inspiring true stories that showcase the true, good, and beautiful. Her work includes Producer-Writer on Gabriel and Christopher Award-winning PRAY: THE STORY OF PATRICK PEYTON, The Dating Project, and Emmy® and Christopher Award-winning The House That Rob Built. She served as Executive Producer on the feature film Unplanned.

Jonathan Cipiti, Director and Editor

Jonathan Cipiti, Director and Editor,

Jonathan Cipiti is a director based out of New York. He has a strong passion for documentary and believes in the transformational power that sharing someone’s story can have on the world. His work includes the documentaries The Dating ProjectAbstraction, Silence and Beauty, Gabriel and Christopher Award-winning PRAY: THE STORY OF PATRICK PEYTON, and Emmy® and Christopher Award-winning The House That Rob Built. His life has been changed by sitting and hearing the stories of others and his goal is to bring others into that space.

Father David L. Guffey, C.S.C., Executive Producer

Father David L. Guffey, C.S.C., Executive Producer,

Rev. David L. Guffey, C.S.C., serves as National Director and Head of Production at Family Theater Productions in Hollywood, California, which was founded in 1947, and creates faith-based and family-friendly programs for film, television, and the internet. Under his leadership, Family Theater Productions recently renovated its Sunset Boulevard facilities and committed to the production of family and faith-friendly content for both mainstream and religious audiences. Family Theater Productions has recently been part of the producing teams that created and distributed the films The Dating ProjectPRAY: THE STORY OF PATRICK PEYTON, The House That Rob Built, and Next Level. He produces Catholic Central, a web series for young people. He has written and directed award-winning short films, Down from the Mountaintop and 40 Hours. David Guffey earned a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Divinity from Notre Dame, and a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production from Loyola Marymount. He serves on the boards of Ave Maria Press, The University of Portland, and Catholics in Media Associates of Los Angeles. Since 2005, he has lived in residence and assisted at St. Monica Parish in Santa Monica, California.

Matthew Donlan,
Co-Writer, Associate Producer

Matthew Donlan,
Co-Writer, Associate Producer,

Matthew Donlan has written for a variety of television series, including​ ​Bones, Joan of Arcadia, and Nickelodeon’s LazyTown. He also developed and sold a dramatic series pilot for the FX Network, in collaboration with Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker. In film, he has served as a writer and story consultant on numerous feature documentaries, and he's currently scripting a biopic based on the life of the French human rights champion, Jerome Lejeune. Matt obtained his Bachelor’s Degree from The College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and a Masters in Film and TV from Boston University where he also created, produced, and co-wrote live comedy showcases. 

Eitan Almagor, Director of Photography, West Coast, U.S.A.

Eitan Almagor, Director of Photography, West Coast, U.S.A.,

Born and raised in Israel, Eitan moved to the U.S. at the age of 22. He graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2013, and began working on music videos, short documentaries, and commercials. Always wanting to focus on feature work, Eitan shot his first feature at the end of 2015. Since then, he has worked on feature films for Lifetime, Hallmark, Syfy, and Netflix.

Alyssa Brocato, Director of Photography, East Coast, U.S.A.

Alyssa Brocato, Director of Photography, East Coast, U.S.A.,

Alyssa Brocato is a cinematographer based in both Los Angeles and New York. Since receiving her BFA from Loyola Marymount University, her projects have spanned the narrative, commercial, documentary, and music video worlds in the U.S. and abroad. Her work most recently premiered in competition at Sidewalk Film Festival, NewFilmmakers LA, HollyShorts, and LA Shorts Fest. Alyssa’s narrative work has been featured as Short of the Day on Film School Rejects, as well as Vulture and NewNowNext, and Project of the Year on IndieWire. She values strong collaboration and is passionate about supporting story and character through intuitive cinematography. PRAY: THE STORY OF PATRICK PEYTON marks her first collaboration with director Jon Cipiti and the Family Theater Productions team.

Stephen Caserta, Director of Photography, Ireland

Stephen Caserta, Director of Photography, Ireland,

Stephen is an extremely passionate and dedicated filmmaker with a love for cinematography. Self-taught, he began his professional career in college, shooting weddings and organizational films, eventually moving up to commercial and documentary work. He is always striving to reach outside of his comfort zone to grow and develop as a filmmaker and storyteller. He loves working at Windrider because it allows him to be creative and make a difference in the world. His goal is to tell stories that far outlive himself and transform the lives of people in a powerful way. Stephen has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Florida Gulf Coast University.

John Louis Caiella, Editor

John Louis Caiella, Editor,

John Caiella is an editor based in Upstate New York. As an editor, he tries to find economic and exciting ways of telling stories in the documentary space. He exercises his abilities not only in the edit bay, but also in the field working with sound design. His work includes Abstraction: The Dianne Collard Story, Identity, and Silence and Beauty.

Grant Fonda, Original Score

Grant Fonda, Original Score,

Hailed by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers as a “Composer to Watch,” Los Angeles-based composer Grant Fonda has collaborated with numerous creatives on a growing array of notable projects, including the award-winning The Dating Project (dir. Jonathan Cipiti, 2018) and Down the Fence (dir. MJ Isakson, 2017), the ground-breaking comedy Maybe: Josh for Sofia Vergara’s series 365 Days of Love (dir. Jonah Feingold, 2019), the jingles for the international smash hit plush Suprizamal & Squeezamal toys, and Caress Reeves’ award-winning animated funk-opera Mothership Opera (2015). Grant has worked with composers Thomas Newman and Heitor Pereira on Spectre: Bridge of Spies and Minions, and he has collaborated with the late James Horner on TITANIC (Live!) and Pax de Deux (double concerto), and John Debney on Disneyland-California Adventure's World of Color: Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney. He is a composing fellow of Film Independent and ASCAP's Project Involve, a distinguished presenter at NYU's Music and the Moving Image Conference, and is an alumnus of the prestigious ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop with Richard Bellis. Grant is an alumnus of USC's acclaimed Screen Scoring program, where he was mentored by Emmy-winning composer, Bruce Broughton.

Meet the Executive Team

Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C., Executive Producer

Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C., Executive Producer,

Father Wilfred (Willy) Raymond, C. S. C., was born in Old Town, Maine. He is one of 12 children born to Joseph and Lydia Raymond. In September 1946, at the age of 20, Father Willy entered the Congregation of Holy Cross. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Stonehill College and a Master of Theology from the University of Notre Dame. He made solemn vows in 1970 and was ordained a priest on April 3, 1971. Prior to his current role as President of Holy Cross Family Ministries, Father Willy was the National Director of Family Theater Productions from 2000 to 2014. He enjoys most sports and follows the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and all the Boston professional sports teams, especially the Red Sox. He loves film and history including American, European, and Church history.

Ed Priddy, Executive Producer

Ed Priddy, Executive Producer,

Chairman and Co-Founder, Windrider Institute

A successful entrepreneur and Peabody award-winning film producer, Ed is a leader in the launching and development of entrepreneurial companies and has founded numerous private and nonprofit enterprises. Along with his brother John, he was instrumental in launching the Windrider Forum (at Sundance Film Festival 2005) and is an executive producer of award-winning documentaries including Hilla Medalia’s After the Storm, Medalia’s Peabody Award-winning To Die in Jerusalem, Heather Rae’s Showtime feature Family: The First Circle, Laura Waters Hinson’s As We Forgive and Dog Days, Doug Block’s critically acclaimed 51 Birch Street, and Dani Menkin’s Academy-shortlisted 39 Pounds of Love. Other films include Craig Detweiler and John Marks’ cult hit, Purple State of Mind and Michael Hoffman’s Out of the Blue. Ed serves on numerous Boards of Directors, including the CEDC Foreign Trade Zone board, a U.S. Department of Commerce initiative that encourages and fosters job creation here in the U.S. He is also a Trustee of Freedom from Hunger, a nonprofit committed to ending hunger globally, and he is a co-founder of Full Circle Exchange, an innovative social enterprise dedicated to empowering women by focusing on poverty reduction through the creation of sustainable economic solutions and access to global markets. A lifelong entrepreneur, Ed has a degree in finance from the University of Colorado.

John Priddy, Executive Producer

John Priddy, Executive Producer,

CEO and Co-Founder, Windrider Institute

A successful entrepreneur and Peabody award-winning film producer, John is a leader in the creation and expansion of entrepreneurial companies and development of private and nonprofit enterprises. Along with his brother Ed, John is an executive producer of award-winning documentaries including Hilla Medalia’s After the Storm, Medalia’s Peabody Award-winning To Die in Jerusalem, Heather Rae’s Showtime feature Family: The First Circle, Laura Waters Hinson’s As We Forgive, Dog Days, and Mama Rwanda, Doug Block’s critically acclaimed 51 Birch Street, and Dani Menkin’s Academy shortlisted 39 Pounds of Love. Other films include Craig Detweiler and John Marks’ cult hit, Purple State of Mind and Michael Hoffman’s Out of the Blue. He has served on the U.S. Department of State’s International Council on Business Leadership Subcommittee on Access to Markets, the Advisory Board for the John Templeton Foundation Communications and Public Engagement Department, and currently serves on the Christian Media Corporation Advisory Board and Fuller Brehm Center Advisory Board. He is also a co-founder of Full Circle Exchange, an innovative social enterprise dedicated to empowering women by focusing on poverty reduction through job creation, improved incomes, and access to global markets. John has a Master of Arts in Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary, where he was awarded the Brehm Center Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012 and has a B.S in Business Administration from the University of Colorado.

Tai Truesdell, Executive Producer

Tai Truesdell, Executive Producer,

Tai Truesdell joined Arnon Milchan’s New Regency Productions in 1997 and was quickly promoted to a senior management position. He worked directly with marketing, distribution, and rights management executives from partners Warner Bros and Fox, managing worldwide distribution, rights clearance, and rights management for over 120 titles domestically and internationally. In late 2007 Tai left New Regency to start Pipeline MPG; a forward-thinking sales agency. Pipeline MPG successfully represented over 80 titles in the Middle East market. In 2016, Truesdell bought the assets to Pipeline MPG and started Rogue Wave Entertainment, an entity specifically aimed at production and distribution of titles capable of multi rights transactional media. Tai currently represents more than 30 titles for Mission Pictures for the international market, including the 2018 box office hit I Can Only Imagine, heading the International sales, and working directly with marketing and delivery of the title in more than 40 territories. Mr. Truesdell attends all major film markets, including the Cannes Film Festival, Berlin, MIPTV, MIPCOM, Vidcon, NATPE, and AFM.

Brandon Clark, Executive Producer

Brandon Clark, Executive Producer,

Coming from a long legacy in the entertainment industry, Brandon Clark started directing and producing TV pilots and commercials 16 years ago. After directing award-winning music videos, he moved on to bigger commercials which included talent like Neil Patrick Harris, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Jamie Foxx. He soon began producing feature films, working with great creatives such as Joss Whedon and Kevin Hart. Now, Brandon, has started a new production company, working with NBCUNIVERSAL.

Michael Priddy, Associate Producer

Michael Priddy, Associate Producer,

With more than 8 years of experience in the nonprofit and social enterprise space, Michael brings extensive organizational and operational management to the Windrider Institute. Since 2015, Michael has worked alongside the Windrider Productions team to lead, as a producer and director, the completion of more than 200 short films for various clients. Michael is passionate about working closely with clients to discover their story and collaborating with production crews to bring those stories to life on the screen. Michael graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in 2010 with a degree in Managerial and Organizational Communications.

Anthony J. Sands, Associate Producer

Anthony J. Sands, Associate Producer,

Tony Sands is an award-winning producer, writer, and director who has won multiple Telly Awards, Gabriel Awards, and top medals from the New York Festivals. He currently works as a Senior Producer for Family Theater Productions where he spearheads the Development Department. Prior to joining Family Theater Productions, Tony worked in the film industry, holding positions in development, production, post-production, and digital special effects. He received credits on numerous feature films, including Dr. Doolittle, Space Jam, and Sphere. He is a published author with his novel Cacique, A Novel of Florida’s Heroic Mission History, still available at Barnes & Noble. He graduated magna cum laude from USC’s School of Film and Television and continues to look for projects that truly entertain and touch the heart in ways that matter.

Collaborators for PRAY the film

Family Theater Productions presents PRAY: The Story of Patrick Peyton 

In association with Windrider Productions

In association with ODB Films

LOGO OneLightMedia


One Light Media

In association with One Light Media

In association with Rogue Wave Entertainment

Promotional services by Carmel Communications

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