Miracle in the Making The Unfolding Story of Therese

Something exciting is happening in the movie industry. A small Catholic production company, Saint Luke Productions, headed by actor/director Leonardo Defilippis, has stepped out in faith to produce a feature film on the life of Saint Therese of Lisieux. The movie Therese is now in the last stages of production, and is scheduled to premiere this July at World Youth Day in Toronto.

The miraculous history of this ambitious production is a testimony to God’s power to do impossible things. Here is a movie that is not only faithful to the message of Saint Therese, but also a remarkable film that has an appeal to secular audiences because of its cinematic excellence, and intriguing story.

The whole project has been financed by the donations of individuals who believe in this work and want to see Saint Luke Productions make a difference in the entertainment industry, which has such a powerful influence on the values and vision of today’s youth. Defilippis believes that Therese is just the person to do this, with her message of a “Little Way” to reach happiness and peace: simply doing the everyday duties of life as an offering of love to God. “Throughout the entire history of this production we have been on the verge of financial collapse, and we still need so much help,” he states. “But God continues to send the financial support we need, and we persevere in trust.”

Saint Luke Productions is used to taking risks. Since 1980 Leonardo Defilippis, the founder of this ministry, has been producing high quality live and video dramas that answer the pope’s call to evangelize through the entertainment media with Catholic stories of the saints and the scriptures. His live one-man shows have been performed for audiences of more than 700,000 throughout the English-speaking world, and his videos on Saint Francis, Maximilian: Saint of Auschwitz, and John of the Cross are familiar to television viewers around the globe. But his latest production is bigger than anything he has ever attempted before: a Catholic feature film, to be seen by a vast secular audience in movie theaters across the country.

This project has had an impact on the lives of all those involved, particularly its director of photography, Lourds Ambrose. Twenty years ago, he came to Hollywood, full of dreams of making it big in the movie business. His father was a filmmaker in his homeland of India, and young Lourds, born on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, wanted to follow in his footsteps here in the U.S. as a director of photography. However, within weeks, all of his meager savings had been swindled, and this naïve young man got down on his knees. “Child Jesus,” he begged, “if you only grant me success in this business, I promise to give something back to you someday.”

Years passed, and Lourds made a name for himself as a sharp, dedicated professional cameraman, with the eye of an artist, the skills of a technical wizard, and the honesty, reliability and dedication of a good man. He was successful.

But he forgot his promise. Then along came Saint Luke Productions, with the crazy idea of producing a Catholic feature film on the greatest saint of modern times, Therese. The idea intrigued him. He remembered Saint Therese of Lisieux from his childhood; his sister in India had become a nun and taken the name of “Little Flower.” So he signed on as director of photography, and began to teach this Catholic production company everything he knew about making a movie the right way – making a movie that met the exacting standards of Hollywood.

Little did he know what he was getting himself into! He thought he was committing himself to a few months work on a feature project, something he had done many times before. In the midst of filming he learned the full name of this great saint: Saint Therese of the CHILD JESUS.

Then he remembered his promise. Here at last, was his opportunity to give something back to God. And to return to God, after a long time away. Lourds Ambrose met Therese, and through her, his life was changed, and continues to change.

What started out as a short-term job has turned into a fulltime vocation for this gifted, dedicated man, who continues, after two years, to devote his entire life to completing this film. Because of him, Saint Luke Productions has had the top professionals in the industry working to fine-tune the final version of Therese.

“When I feel like quitting,” Leonardo says, “I just have to think of this man, who is sacrificing so much, to finish this movie.”

The film is scheduled for completion on June 14th, in time for the exclusive screening for the WORLD YOUTH DAY 2002 in Toronto, where 200,000 young Catholics will gather in July. However, the next stages of completing the film and marketing it are expensive. Leonardo Defilippis needs to come up with $250,000 in the next three weeks, to get the film completed and to finance the opening at World Youth Day.

“I often get overwhelmed by these astronomical, impossible figures,” Defilippis admits. “But then I keep thinking of Jesus, feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. That’s the way we’ve always proceeded; not with the support of the rich and powerful, but with the sacrifices of ordinary people who let God do the work. God is doing this work. And he’s using all of us to evangelize in a new way, through a beautiful saint whose story will touch millions of hearts throughout the entire world. This movie can do powerful work for the Church.”

If you would like to help Saint Luke Productions bring the Therese film to the pilgrims of World Youth Day, please click here and make a tax-deductible donation. This will bring you to their secure, on-line shopping cart.

Have you seen the French film "Therese"? It was made in the late 1980s. Very artistic and polished, and had an actress who looked unbelievably like the real St Therese. But although the film was well made, I did not feel that it had real spiritual values - it did not convey the religious meaning of her life.

4 posted on 05/04/2002 10:15:15 PM PDT by Canticle_of_Deborah

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