Variety’s Faith & Media Impact Report Presented by the Coalition for Faith and Media

President and CEO
Great American Media

Thanks to his leadership building up the Hallmark Channel and its associated networks, Abbott was already a Broadcasting Hall of Famer in 2021 when he co-founded Great American Media. Abbott started with a pair of cable networks and then launched the brand’s “Great American Christmas” franchise. Since then, the company has expanded to comprise a FAST channel, an app and a streaming service, Great American Pure Flix, which will air 19 Christmas films this holiday season. “[It is] extraordinarily rewarding to hear from our viewers personally about how much they love our quality, original content,” says Abbott, “and especially how much they appreciate our efforts to positively influence culture.”

Actor

Ali converted to Islam in 2000 and has been involved in philanthropic and interfaith organizations for years, lending his voice to advocacy initiatives. The first Muslin to win a “best” Oscar, Ali starred as Sheikh Ali in six episodes of “Ramy,” Ramy Youssef’s series that followed the life of a twentysomething guy who happens to be Muslim. It was a character that Ali and Youssef both prayed about and for which Youssef consulted his own sheikh about. (He loved it.) The “Green Book” star has been in the forefront of Artists4Ceasefire, a collective formed in October 2023 in response to the “humanitarian crisis unfolding in Israel and Palestine,” according to the group. In September, the group launched a new campaign, “Ceasefire Now, Stop Weapons, Save Lives” that urges the halt to what it says are “weapons transfers that violate U.S. and international law.”

Producer, “Mary”

Aloe led the charge to bring a new retelling of the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Netflix, this time as an action-survival thriller. While consulting with scholars and clergy to ensure authenticity to the time, her team emphasized aspects of the story that had been downplayed in the past, including her determination to evade King Herod’s efforts to kill the prophesied messiah in the womb. “We made this film to bring to the world an opportunity to better understand Mary’s incredible commitment and sacrifice to life, as a mother,” says Aloe. “We wanted [people] to understand that her calling, against all odds, was bound by faith and driven by courage, and that she never gave up.”

Actor, producer, musician

The British-born Ahmed has long been an advocate for Muslim voices and South Asians in media. He’s on the selection committee of the Desi List, a partnership between The Black List and The Salon that evaluates scripts, and in 2021 led the creation of the Blueprint for Muslim Inclusion, as well as the Pillars Artist Fellowship, offering grantees an unrestricted award of $25,000. Both are in partnership with the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, the Ford Foundation and Pillars Fund. Upcoming, he has reteamed with “Long Goodbye” director Aneil Karia for “Hamlet,” which stars Amed as the melancholy Dane, and is creator and star of Prime series “Quarter Life.”

Director

Cannes Film Festival prize-winner “Emilia Pérez” deals with thorny problems: Can one literally become a different person by changing one’s body? Having done wrong, having been truly immoral, can one redeem one’s life through good acts? Audaciously, auteur Audiard explores that dilemma through a musical (!) about a lethal drug cartel leader who fakes his own death so (s)he can transition to being a woman (the titular Emilia), and who then starts an organization to help the families of cartel victims. Variety critic Peter Debruge called the film “dazzling and instantly divisive.” Audiard challenges his audience by using a figure that many would ostracize, both for their life as a drug lord and for being a trans woman, to embody the complexity of good and evil within a single soul.

Edward Berger, Director

Peter Straughan, Writer

Conclave

Based on Robert Harris’ bestselling 2016 novel detailing the political intrigues and crises of personal faith among the Catholic Church’s cardinals as they grapple with finding a successor to the recently expired pope, “Conclave” firmly sides with the Church’s reformers over its moss-backed traditionalists. “The church is what we do next,” says one key member of this cloistered clan as his words become the light of an uplifting shift that takes “Conclave” from a tale of petty foibles to a bold statement about the power of love as the hand of God. Berger notes: “As Leonard Cohen says, ‘There’s a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in.’ In ‘Conclave,’ we move through the oldest patriarchal institution in the world. At the end of the movie, the foundations of this institution have a crack. And behind that crack there is a light. A light of hope for a world that embraces change.”

Founder & CEO, Mission Pictures Intl.

“Having been one in a very small group of consistent modern day faith film pioneers, it’s been incredibly exciting to see the floodgates of opportunity open throughout Hollywood,” says Bond. Variety flagged the golf-pro- turned-actor-turned-fledgling-producer Bond as “one to watch” in 1996. In the years since, her inspirational films include “Redeeming Love,” “I Can Only Imagine” and Hallmark film “Enchanted Christmas.” She boasts dozens of credits as producer or executive producer with more projects announced and in development, including a sequel she birthed. Going forward, she aims to “continue my pursuit of commercial excellence to produce film and television projects that inspire audiences worldwide.”

Kevin Downes, co-founder & CEO

Andy Erwin, co-founder & chief creative officer

Kingdom Story Co.

Kingdom Story Co. has a sterling track record in faith-friendly entertainment; they have had six releases with an A+ Cinemascore rating, including 2023’s “Jesus Revolution.” And they’ve been busy, with recent theatrical releases “Ordinary Angels,” “Unsung Hero,” “White Bird” and “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” (directed by Dallas Jenkins, who is also on this list), with “The Unbreakable Boy” coming in 2025, all in partnership with Lionsgate. CEO Downes says, “I am proud that each of these films has not only entertained but also sparked conversations about faith and resilience.” Chief creative officer Andy Erwin adds, “I’m excited to continue using film to bridge the gap between faith and entertainment.”

Producer-Actor

“Touched by an Angel” established Downey in the firmament of faith entertainment stars and she has never given up her commitment to that space. She produced 2023’s “On a Wing and a Prayer” for Amazon Prime. In 2024, she was back on the streamer with “The Baxters,” for which she is exec producer and plays the family matriarch. “I lovingly nurtured and developed [‘The Baxters’] over a number of years, and to see it finally on the screen and to hear the beautiful reactions to it has been very gratifying,” she says. Downey launched shingle Mrs. B Prods. that will make her next Amazon project, a holiday rom-com to star Zooey Deschanel and Charlie Cox.

Writer-director-actor, “A Real Pain”

When Eisenberg visited his grandmother’s onetime home in Poland — the house is a location in the film — he was so moved he determined to share the experience, first through a play, then through his film “A Real Pain.” A buddy picture about a pair of estranged cousins visiting their ancestral shtetl isn’t obviously a story about a spiritual journey. But usually, spiritual journeys are spurred by pain, and the cousins are suppressing plenty of it, including grief for their grandmother. “[‘A Real Pain’ is] questioning what is real and what is valid pain,” says Eisenberg. The film shows that sometimes the first step toward healing is restoring connection, and that is inherently spiritual.

Jon Erwin, founder & chief content officer
Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten, CEO

The Wonder Project

The Wonder Project launched in Decemeber 2023, with backing from UTA, Lionsgate, Jason Blum and others, as an independent production company “focused on telling stories that restore faith in things worth believing in.” Founder Jon Erwin and CEO Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten bring plenty of experience to their new endeavor. Hoogstraten was a senior executive at YouTube and Netflix; Erwin shared directing, writing and producing credit on “Jesus Revolution.” “Entertaining with a purpose is a magical, beautiful privilege because it really can change people’s lives,” he says. The Wonder Project hit the ground running; it has already shot the TV series “House of David” in 2024. “I’m so proud,” says Hoogstraten, “because it truly is an epic series. I can’t wait for a global audience to see it.”

Executive producers, “Nobody Wants This”

Until this year, the Foster sisters were known for “The World’s First Podcast With Erin and Sara Foster” and for their clothing line, Favorite Daughter. But their lives changed after Erin, who identified as agnostic, fell in love with and married a Jewish man and converted to Judaism. They worked up a TV pitch based on her experiences — which almost everyone passed on, except Netflix. Today, “Nobody Wants This” is delighting audiences by mining laughs in the connection between two people with profoundly different outlooks. “I don’t think you can ever prepare yourself for the response the show has gotten,” says Sara. Netflix has renewed it for a second season.

CEO, Franklin Entertainment

Variety named Franklin as a producer to watch in 2016, two years after he launched his company, and he has justified the choice in multiple ways. He’s an ordained minister, a best-selling author, a motivational speaker and producer with both theatrical films (“Flamin’ Hot”) and television series (“Kingdom Business”) among his credits; he’s also an AMPAS governor-at-large. In May, he announced a partnership with Tyler Perry to produce faith-based films for Netflix, and he has a first-look deal with CBS. “I feel like I’m just getting started,” he says. “I still want to accomplish finding more ways to bring people hope and inspire people.”

Actor

Gere has been associated with Tibet and Buddhism for half a century, but his free-Tibet activism has sometimes overshadowed his advocacy for Buddhist practice. Yet he has dedicated time to Buddhist meditation every day throughout that time, and he has been generous about explaining what he does and what he’s learned. In a 2022 interview, he said his greatest takeaway from Buddhism has been “that the best way to navigate the world we live in, samsara, is through a sense of universal responsibility. That there’s no one outside of our concern. There’s no thing outside of our concern. To the extent that we are able to develop ourselves, we are responsible for the whole universe.” The actor and activist can be seen in Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada” and Paramount+ thriller “The Agency.”

Director, “Bob Marley: One Love”

In his first feature as director, “Monsters and Men,” Green’s characters grappled with painful moral dilemmas in a world tinged with violence. With “Bob Marley: One Love,” his titular hero, already injured once in an assassination attempt, faced a pivotal choice: whether to return to the stage and share his message of hope and love through his music, or not. Green calls the film “one of the most important projects of my career so far, both personally and professionally. I’m honored audiences around the world continue to share their love of the film and Bob through his music, his family and his legacy.”

Showrunner, “Reservation Dogs”

The beloved FX series was shot with themes of community, family, friendship, love and loss, seen through the eyes of four Native American teens in Oklahoma. Harjo, himself a Native American from Oklahoma, used mostly Indigenous talent, both in front of and behind the camera. The series also weaves in spirituality, with the characters talking with dead ancestors, having visions and allowing a look at Indigenous traditions and rites around important milestones. “Dogs” also features Spirit, played by Dallas Goldtooth, who regularly appears to guide Bear (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) as the young man tries to get through life. And, oh yeah, the show is very funny too. Harjo and Goldtooth have both joined with the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition to promote passage of the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act.

Neal Harmon, co-founder & CEO

Jeffrey Harmon, co-founder & chief content officer

Angel Studios

Angel Studios made a splash with the feature “Sound of Freedom,” which grossed some $251 million worldwide. But what may be even more impressive is its business model, which crowdsources choices about what to distribute to the 375,000 members of the Angel Guild — 104,000 of those members have invested $80 million in Angel Studios projects. On the slate for 2025, the studio reunites with “Sound of Freedom” director Alejandro Monteverde for “Bethlehem,” the Massacre of the Innocents story reimagined as a thriller, “Rule Breakers,” about the girls who defiantly formed a robotics team in Afghanistan, and “The Last Rodeo,” based on the true story of bull rider Joe Wainwright.

Founder & CEO, UP Entertainment, UPtv

More than a half-century after he took his first job in television production, and more than 20 years after he founded UP Entertainment, Humbard is still finding new ways to uplift viewers. UP Entertainment has a diverse array of brands and networks, but their unifying goal is to provide inspiring programming. In 2024 he struck a partnership with Minno, a subscription streaming service aimed at kids. A future goal, he says, is to “grow our streaming service, UP Faith & Family, to 15 million subscribers as the leading independent faith and family brand.” He is going beyond business deals, too: He created the company’s internal initiative “UPlift Someone,” which reminds others that simple acts of kindness can make a difference.

Executive producer, “The Chosen”

Jenkins’s Netflix’s hit “The Chosen” has turned into the mothership for a multi-show franchise. Production has begun on an animated spinoff, “The Chosen Adventures,” and an outdoor reality show featuring the Bear Grylls and the cast of “The Chosen.” This year, Jenkins held the second ChosenCon in Orlando and launched a new production company, 5&2 Studios, that will take over production of “The Chosen.” Meanwhile, he directed the theatrical feature “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” for Kingdom Story Co. and Lionsgate, a pic he says he’s wanted to make for almost 20 years. “I genuinely don’t develop specific goals about the future anymore, so I’ll just say I hope to continue to be telling God stories for the rest of my life,” he says. He’s already on that path, with two more Bible-inspired series
in development.

Singer, actor, artist, advocate

Jewel has long been a mental health advocate but she took that side of her life to a new level with “The Portal: An Art Experience by Jewel” at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark. Jewel designed the audio-visual art experience to be a space for reflection, connection, and transformation, aiming to induce introspection, self-awareness and well-being in attendees. “A middle-aged journalist from a hard-boiled publication came up to me at the end of ‘The Portal’ weeping,” she says, “and told me how much the experience meant to him. It was profoundly humbling.”

Director, “All We Imagine as Light”

Indian helmer Kapadia’s third feature played in May’s Cannes festival competition and won the Grand Jury Prize. The film follows two overworked nurses — who are also roommates — in bustling, crowded Mumbai, their shared experience that creates unshakeable bonds between them, and how that friendship can lift up their souls and free them. “I was interested in looking at friendship, a relationship that has no real definition. As one grows older, our friends become a stronger support system to us, sometimes even more than our families,” said Kapadia in press notes. As Variety’s Jesica Kiang wrote in her review of the film: “The light is all around them, and if they have to imagine it, it’s only because they cannot see it emanates from within.”

Director, “Red One”

Some now-beloved holiday films were greeted coolly at first — “It’s Wonderful Life,” and “The Polar Express,” to name two — and Amazon’s big Christmas actioner “Red One” may become a perennial treat, too, despite its critical drubbing. Santa is a superstar of this fantasy world, not because he brings presents, but because he never gives up on anyone. His bodyguard/security chief Callum (Dwayne Johnson) has lost that faith and the film’s dramatic drive comes from his need to regain his belief in humanity. Even Santa’s demonic brother, Krampus, shows up with a soft spot for his goody-sleigh-shoes sibling. “Red One” is big, loud and frantic but its heart is filled with the Holiday Spirit.

Actor, musician

Quaid laid bare his personal struggles on his hit inspirational album “Fallen: A Gospel Record for Sinners,” which reveals a daily struggle that many in recovery — like Quaid — can relate to. Long a spiritual seeker, he told Variety in 2023 that he “originally identified as Christian, then I turned to Buddhism, and I read the Dhammapada and then I read the Quran and the Bhagavad Gita and I read the Bible four times, cover to cover.” Today, the “Reagan” star says, “I talk to God a lot, every day. I question everything I do. I believe it’s about keeping trying. It’s about self-examination and throwing your ego out the door.”

Writer-director, “The Wild Robot”

If spirituality is a search for meaning and connection with something greater than ourselves, “The Wild Robot” finds it in an unlikely soul: Roz the robot, who transcends her programming to become parent and protector of a gosling. “It was the kindness that flowed through the narrative which we all fell in love with,” says Sanders. “Roz is a programmed machine, so the aspirational altitudes she inhabited didn’t just belong, they were the heart and soul of the story.” Based on Peter Brown’s award-winning novel, and steered by Sanders’ sure hand, “The Wild Robot” shows how connecting with nature can awaken compassion and empathy in any heart, even a silicon one.

Filmmaker-producer

Scorsese’s approach to “The Last Temptation of Christ” was off-putting to some doctrinaire Christians but few directors have grappled as openly or as deeply with the meaning of Catholicism and the Bible. With docudrama series “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints,” which he produced and narrated, he has gone beyond the Bible to examine the acts of holy men and women. “These are stories of eight very different men and women … struggling to follow the way of love revealed to them and to us by Jesus’ words in the Gospels,” he said in a statement. He’s also in pre-production for “A Life of Jesus,” described as “an unconventional take” on the life of Christ.

Founding partner & CEO, Pinnacle Peak Pictures

“Faith films appeal beyond the Christian audience,” says Scott. “Time and time again I see people from all walks of life looking for films that inspire or uplift their spirit regardless of their background.” Scott speaks from experience: he has been producing for almost 25 years and has more than 40 feature films and nine TV series among his producer credits. He’s co-founder of faith-friendly streaming service Pure Flix and of Pinnacle Peak Pictures, which had two releases in 2024: “God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust,” the latest entry in the popular “God’s Not Dead” franchise; and “Average Joe.”

Director, producer

He describes himself as an atheist and his films often take a dim view of organized religion, but that belies the respect for spiritual practice shown in his films and his critical view of society’s moral failings. In “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” he framed Moses’ story as the creation of an ethical system that does not depend on the regular intervention of a deity. “Gladiator” treated the ancestor worship of pre-Christian Rome seriously, and in “Gladiator II,” it’s the heroes of the tale who put their faith in their fellow man and in building a fair and uncorrupt society. Scott’s interest in individual spiritual searchers and his films’ pleas for us all to live better represents an individualistic but profound form of faith.

Nathan Silver, director-writer

C. Mason Wells, writer

“Between the Temples”

If rabbis are unusual characters in films, cantors are downright rare, and adult bat mitzvahs are unheard of. Screwball comedy “Between the Temples” brings together two people at a crossroads: A widowed cantor who’s lost his voice, and his childhood music teacher, now also widowed and exploring her Jewish heritage for the first time. Filmmakers Silver and Wells enlisted consultants to make sure they adhered to the letter and spirit of Judaism. “We’d ask them a question and they’d be like, well, it depends,” says Silver. “There are a million possible answers. And that is Judaism: it’s a life spent questioning.”

Actors, musicians

For King & Country

The Smallbone duo have had 13 No. 1 hits; their music has been streamed more than 2 billion times; and they’ve won numerous awards including four Grammys. Now they’ve made the leap to movies. Joel made his feature film directing debut, co-helming (as well as starring in and co-writing) “Unsung Hero,” for Kingdom Story Co. and Lionsgate. Luke is a producer on the pic. The picture, based on the Smallbone family’s own story, spawned an album and a concert tour. “My greatest sense of surprise recently,” Joel says, “has been in the fact that we were actually able to cross the bridge from music to movies and pull it off with a little bit of grit and flair and artistic narrative integrity.”

Writer-producer, “Genius: MLK/X”

As a playwright and TV writer, Stetson has long portrayed Black leaders and men of faith. With “Genius: MLK/X,” he looked at the lives of two martyred civil rights icons: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. The series is inspired in part by Stetson’s own stage play “The Meeting,” imagining the sole meeting between the two. King and X embraced different religions, methods and philosophies, but “Genius” shows that both men leaned on their faith as they took stands that endangered their lives, with King speaking out against the Vietnam war and X leaving the Nation of Islam to become a Sunni Muslim. “I write with a love for the people I represent and the belief that individuals are capable of great change and achievement,” Stetson said in a 2016 interview. “More than anything else, I write not only about what is true but what can become true with courage, honor and dedication.”

Malcolm Washington, writer-director

Virgil Williams, writer

“The Piano Lesson”

Adapted from August Wilson’s play (Washington calls the process of adaptation “a terrifying and sacred undertaking”) Netflix’s “The Piano Lesson” illuminates how connection with ancestors feeds spiritual connection. The Depression-era Charles family is wrestling with ghosts — both literally and figuratively. They’re haunted by the slave owner who tormented their family long ago and torn over how to deal with their family legacy. A minister tries an exorcism, but for this family, healing comes not from the power of the Lord but from making peace with their forebears. “May this work be an offering to the ancestors, a humble act of gratitude and tribute to them,” says Washington of the film.

Musician-actor

Williams, like so many others in entertainment, has basked in fame only to have to reinvent himself as fans moved on. In “Piece by Piece,” which was released Oct. 11, he tells his life story through animated Lego pieces. Having tasted the bitter and the sweet, he has strong ideas about faith. In published interviews, he’s said he’s felt the power of the Word, but he believes some people aren’t made to be religious. “Do I think that Christianity is the only way?” he wonders. “No. I think the only route for everything is their connection to God.” It’s unconventional but inclusive view that suits him, just as the film does.

Actor

“I believe, and I know, that we are spiritual beings having a human experience … So why does the storytelling oftentimes not reflect this reality?” Wilson wondered onstage at a February Variety event. He’s long been trying to address that issue, from the founding of Soul Pancake in 2008 through his book “Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution” and the launch this year of his Soul Boom podcast. The SAG Award winner says, “My journey tiptoeing into the world of kind of spirituality and in media really came from some mental health crises that I had undergone as a youth, and some issues that I’d had where I found great solace and peace and meaning through spirituality.”

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter Zain is one of the biggest stars in the Islamic nasheed music genre. Mixing his devotional lyrics with contemporary pop and R&B beats, Zain has enjoyed popularity that’s expanded beyond the Middle East since he emerged 15 years ago. He’s also a tireless charity concert performer, raising millions for war-torn regions such as Syria and Lebanon. Earlier this month, he released a new song, “Lebanon,” a plea for peace that has racked up 500,000 views on his YouTube channel with 6 million followers.