Archdiocese’s Gabriel Fellows debut documentaries on ministries

Three young filmmakers who were given the opportunity to create documentaries as part of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Gabriel Fellowship screened their work on Nov. 7 for friends and family and some of the film’s subjects at the Regal Webster Place Cinemas in Chicago.

The fellowship, in its inaugural year, was made possible by a generous donation from Chicago-area filmmaker Jessica Sarowitz, said Vince Gerasole, director of radio, television and multimedia content for the archdiocese.

The fellows received money and time to create their films, while working with the archdiocese’s Office of Radio and Television to create content for its various platforms.

“We’re so very thankful, not only for the works you are about to see, but also for the work you’ve done for the Archdiocese of Chicago,” Sarowitz said at the beginning of the screening. “You’ve brought fresh eyes to the social media platforms. We want to hear from our young people. We want to embrace their perspectives.”

All three of the films focused on the work of the Catholic Church with people at the margins.

Trevor Tosto, a native of the Detroit area and 2023 graduate of Marquette University, focused on the jail ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago in “Kolbe House,” a film that not only explained the work done by staff and volunteers but also offered viewers a glimpse inside the programs offered at Cook County Jail and allowed them to hear inmates discuss how those programs have affected them.

Malina Baer, a native of Appleton, Wisconsin, and a 2023 graduate of DePaul University, wanted to explore ministry in geographically remote areas. Her film, “Ministry at the Edge of Alaska,” follows Father Scott Garrett as he works to bring the church to remote villages in the Bristol Bay area of Alaska. Garrett has ministered in the area for 13 years, bringing his love of the church, his love of the people and his love of flying together, as some of the communities are not accessible by road.

Henry Van Zytveld, who grew up in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood and is a 2023 graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, explored the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Pastoral Migratoria, or immigrant-to-immigrant ministry, and how it is helping the newest migrants arriving in Chicago in “Agentes de Su Proprio Desarrollo (Agents of Their Own Development).”

The three fellows said that their first challenge was figuring out their topics.

Tosto knew he wanted to do something about ministry to incarcerated people, he said, but wasn’t sure how to go about it. He soon found a path when he encountered Mark McCombs, executive director of Kolbe House, in the radio and TV office.

Baer had read about Garrett’s ministry in Alaska, she said, and emailed him to see if he would be willing to work with her.

“I think he thought I was a scammer and ignored it,” she said. Once she got him on the phone, however, he was enthusiastic. He was also recognized at the screening as the person who had traveled farthest to be there.

Van Zytfeld said he knew he wanted to do something in the area of “accompaniment,” but knew he would have to narrow the topic. Then when he decided to focus on accompanying new migrants, he found that Pastoral Migratoria had been doing the work for more than 15 years.

“The challenge was that we had so many options,” Van Zytfeld said. “I think I ended up with something like 35 hours of footage, and I had to cut it down to 30 minutes. Thirty disappears really quickly.”

Tosto said the fellowship taught him about the importance of asking for help.

“If I just reached out,” he said, “there were so many people who wanted to help me.”

For Baer, who traveled to Alaska twice to get footage, one of the main challenges was technical.

“It was just me and my camera,” said Baer, who filmed without the help of a crew.

Even so, the film would not have been possible without Garrett, who not only spent his own time with her but also introduced her to his parishioners.

“They love him so much,” she said.

Auxiliary Bishop Robert Casey, the archdiocese’s vicar general, said the films capture the essence of ministry, which is that the blessings flow both ways.

“It’s not just what I do for you, but what you do for me,” Bishop Casey said. “Ministry isn’t about what we do, but what we are blessed with.”

All three filmmakers said they appreciated the opportunity to tell stories than many people aren’t familiar with.

“There’s a lot of power in images, and there are a lot of stories that haven’t been told yet,” Van Zytfeld said.