From: Mary Moyce

Western Dominican Friar & Writer

Elected to Pluma Pictures Board

March 5, 2008

LOS ANGELES – Western Dominican Christopher J. Renz, O.P., and writer Jeanne Pieper were recently elected to the board of directors of Pluma Pictures, Inc., a non-profit film production company.

Pluma Pictures is dedicated to producing films with inherent universal values, such as truth, peace, justice, beauty, and the importance of family and community.  Pluma, which was founded in 2001 by Southern Dominican friar Armando P. Ibáñez, O.P., completed it’s first feature documentary late last year, Not Broken. The documentary has been juried for screening and nominated for awards at four festivals, including the AFIA Film Festival in Arhus, Denmark. 

Kris Kristofferson, whose song Shipwrecked in the 80s, is included in the feature documentary’s soundtrack, says: “This powerful, moving documentary of the Katrina disaster is a testament to the courage and integrity of the Human Spirit.” 

View trailer at www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCOs0aBGxoM. 

Father Chris is a poet, writer, editor, scientist and scholar.  He is a co-founder and former Executive Editor of Ruah, a journal of spiritual poetry, which was established in 1992 when he and Father Armando co-founded the journal as a culmination of a literary art festival, The Power of Poetry, held at the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology in Berkeley, where years later Father Chris served as dean.

His poetry and articles have been published in a number of publications, including the Review for Religious, Alameda County Historical Society Quarterly, Commonweal, Worship, and Desert Call. 

Jeanne Pieper, sister of Western Dominican Don Bramble, O.P., is a writer and community activist.  She wrote documentary scripts for Franciscan Communications, including Seeds of Hope, Golden Eagle winner, 1990, and The Kekchi: People of Hope, Silver Medal winner, New York International Film Festival, 1992.  In addition, she wrote an award-winning filmstrip series, Feelings Just Are, made into public service television spots by the South Carolina Mental Health Society, awarded a Gabriel for best public service spots for children, 1981.

Jeanne is a founding board member of Action Committee for Women In Prison, and founding director of the committee’s Pen Pal program. She is the creator of Building Bilingual Friendships, a program designed to help adults who speak different languages become friends. The program has been utilized in numerous businesses, organizations, churches and schools, including the Catholic Diocese Ministry Congress, Episcopal Church, Dioceses of Los Angeles, and the U.N. Peace Keeping Military Base in Afghanistan.

She also has written a number of books, most notably The Catholic Woman: Difficult Choices in a Modern World, Lowell House, RGA Publishing, 1993, and The Catholic Church Who Are We, Franciscan Communications, which sold over 1.5 million copies.

Other Pluma Pictures board members are Dr. Erlinda Grey, Ned Greene, Thomas Hedberg, Ph.D., and Southern Dominican Bruce Schultz, O.P.