As the Oscar nominations are announced Thursday, some filmmakers are looking ahead to future awards ceremonies, as they are undergraduates immersed in school-sponsored feature-film production. 

Not at USC, UCLA or the American Film Institute. But a Catholic school: John Paul the Great Catholic University (JPCatholic) in Escondido, in San Diego County. 

The school’s Feature Film Program bills itself as a “revolutionary model of education that integrates feature film productions” into the curriculum.

To date, two features have been completed and released, with a third currently in pre-production. O, Brawling Love was directed by alumna Maggie Mahrt and written by professor of film Chris Riley and Isabella Lake of the Class of 2022. That film is currently available for viewing on Amazon Prime Video. Riley helmed the program’s second feature, No Reception, which will release in 2025. Riley co-wrote the screenplay with professor George Simon. It was produced by Simon as well as Kaitlyn Krikorian of the Class of 2020. 

Dubbed a “family revenge comedy,” the 80-minute film follows a posh city dweller who gets lost in the wilderness with only hand sanitizer.

 

 

According to Riley, who has been teaching screenwriting at JPCatholic since 2007 and is the co-author with his wife, Kathy Riley, of The Defining Moment: How Writers and Actors Build Characters, the program is rooted in JPCatholic’s mission to impact culture for Christ. 

Riley saw how the Gospels showed how Jesus connected with those around him by “speaking the language of the audience,” Riley told the Register. “The university’s mission is served when we speak the language of our culture. My job is to help students become fluent in that language.”

While there are other schools in the region built on Christian foundations, including the Jesuit institution in Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount with its prestigious film school, JPCatholic’s film program sought to actualize its “entrepreneurial spirit,” according to Simon, professor of film and creative director of the Feature Film Program.

“There had been an ambition to create feature films for a long time,” he said. “Once we came up with a model, the approval process from the administration was very fast.”

Not only is feature-film production experience rare for the average film student in Southern California film schools, as students are encouraged to produce and participate in short-form projects and seek out internships, actually being involved in feature filmmaking at all is not a guarantee in the competitive and extremely expensive film industry.

JPCatholic’s program, however, recruited students not only for story submissions, but in the actual production and post-production of the project. For No Reception, Simon and Riley held a university-wide pitch event. Two alums received “Story By” credit for the film, Mark Westin and Natalia Roberts.

On a university-sponsored shoestring budget of about $75,000, another rarity in the film-school system, principal photography took place over 21 days. Compare this data, for instance, to the nearly-$400-million budget of 2023’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. 

The financial and time limitations on No Reception, however, proved to the students and young alumni that features do not have to cost millions of dollars. 

Maria Fennell, a 2024 JPCatholic graduate, was No Reception’s production designer. The program “allowed me to understand what is required to bring a project of that scale to life,” she said. “It’s amazing to see what students can achieve,” she added, noting the emphasis the school puts on hands-on experiences. The university, for instance, houses a select number of students in Los Angeles for a quarter, where Riley immerses them in a behind-the-scenes class at different studios involving various industry professionals. (No students were actively participating in the LA quarter program at the time the wildfires began.)

According to 2020 graduate Kaitlyn Krikorian, who now works at JPCatholic specifically as a producer in the Feature Film Program, 75 current students were involved in the making of No Reception. About 300 students attend JPCatholic in total. Like production designer Fennell, students fulfilled main roles on set. Those involved received six credits for their work on the film, the equivalent of two classes.

“JPCatholic’s philosophy has always been to get students on set as soon as possible versus studying theory for two years,” Krikorian said. Krikorian also noted the intentional choice of stories selected. “We didn’t want to make cheesy Christian films shoving a message down your throat.” And yet, she said, No Reception’s theme is about forgiveness.

About 100 of the 300 students are communications media majors. Simon received his B.A. in screenwriting and MBA in producing from JPCatholic. “A key ethos of the feature-film program is to make great films; we are not a movie studio. Our mission is to educate young people, to form them in their faith journey, and develop skillsets,” he said. “My hope is that as students continue to progress, it will illuminate for them what it takes to make a film at this level with modest resources and that they would take this into their own filmmaking journey.”

With its focus on both the creative arts and business innovation, Simon and the film department emphasize both the artistic side of production and the commercial aspects of filmmaking. A 30,000-square-foot new media building complex will open this year.

And while the university has proved it can combine student and professional talent in its unique program, with funding approved for upcoming projects, Simon recognizes the advantages of larger budgets and attracting interested investors in what the school is accomplishing. “My hope is that people who are aligned with the mission of the university, who are great patrons of the arts, recognize this program as an opportunity to create true Catholic cinema.”