Two Emmy Awards have gone to a documentary that shows St. John Paul II’s central role in the end of communism.
Liberating a Continent: John Paul II and the Fall of Communism
resulted an Emmy for outstanding achievement for documentary programs
in the historical category.
The award went to the documentary executive
producer and Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson, along with producers
Justyna Czyszek, Szymon Czyszek, David Naglieri, and Michele
Nuzzo-Naglieri.
“We are honored to receive these awards and grateful for the
recognition it gives to this important film, which tells the story of
how Eastern Europe regained its freedom without violence and by calling
forth the best in the human spirit,” Anderson said.
“The documentary
shows how John Paul was the essential leader in making this happen and
in such a hopeful, inspiring way.”
Anderson worked with St. John Paul II when he served in the Reagan
White House. He is now Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, a
Catholic fraternal organization with 1.9 million members worldwide.
The film focuses on the sainted Pope’s role in ending communist
control of Central and Eastern Europe and his spiritual influence on
Poland’s Solidarity labor movement, which played a pivotal role leading
up to the collapse of Communism that started in 1989.
Another Emmy went to the film's director of photography, George Hosek.
The Emmy Awards, announced Dec. 3, came from the Chicago/Midwest
Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, one
of the academy’s largest chapters.
The 90-minute film, narrated by actor Jim Caviezel, uses rare
archival footage and interviews with several heads of state. Other
interviewees include papal biographer George Weigel; Cardinal Stanislaw
Dziwisz, emeritus Archbishop of Krakow, who served as St. John Paul II’s
longtime assistant; and Richard Allen, former national security adviser
to Ronald Reagan.
The documentary has been airing on public television across the U.S.
in partnership with WTTW Chicago and the National Educational
Telecommunications Association.