Established in 1991 as Etoile Productions, the Etoile Documentary Group is a Boston-based film production company committed to serious international programs, primarily aimed at a PBS audience.  The production unit is comprised of professionals with the collective experience of approximately 200 years.

Seven of the Etoile productions have been broadcast on WGBH, while these and others have been broadcast nationally and internationally (Ireland, China, Holland, etc.), as well as at UNESCO in Paris.  Several of these productions have been awarded a regional Emmy for "Outstanding Documentary."  The documentary Prelude to Kosovo has toured the United States and Europe as part of the D.C./Belgium Common Ground series.  Most of these films have also been shown nationally and internationally as an integral part of lectures, social justice programs, conflict resolution series, and peace-oriented conferences

Film Crew

John J. Michalczyk: Professor/Co-Director of Film Studies and current Chair of the Fine Arts Department at Boston College, he is also a documentary film producer since 1991 and founder of Etoile Productions. He has produced and directed twelve documentaries as well as scripted eight of them.  Several have received regional Emmy awards among other distinctions.

Paul Goudreau: Cameraman/editor/associate producer, he has an international reputation, having filmed in approximately fifteen countries.  Besides being an original member of the Etoile Production crew, he has worked closely with other production companies such as the Longbow Group and Cambridge Television Productions, among others.  He is also Director/Producer of The War of Art: Murals of Northern Ireland (2003).

Charles Meyer: Professor of photography at Boston College, he has worked in the area of film and photography for more than thirty years.  With Florentine Productions, he worked as Sound Recordist for Ken Burns' Civil Wars, Baseball, and a few other shorter documentaries.  His photography has been exhibited widely, most recently at UNESCO in Paris.  For Etoile, he serves in the capacity of Sound Recordist, Still Photographer, and Associate Director.

Alfred D. Chandler, III:  Field Producer for Etoile documentaries in Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Israel, he comes from a background of history and journalism.  In the last part of the conflict resolution series he has also been a key asset with respect to research and Pre-Production.

Rev Raymond Helmick, SJ:  An international scholar, teacher, and writer, he has been in peace studies and conflict resolution since the early 1970's, and helped negotiate in the Northern Ireland Hunger Strikes at the Maze Prison.  He has interviewed Yasser Arafat on occasion and has been in direct correspondence with him and other international figures over the past twenty years.  He has been on two missions with Rev. Jesse Jackson, to free the US prisoners in the Balkans and most recently to serve as an intermediary in the MidEast conflict.   He is most responsible for the research and content of the productions.

Dr. Rodney Petersen: Executive Director of the Boston Theological Institute (9 Boston colleges, seminaries, and universities - Harvard, BU, BC, Andover-Newton, etc), he has helped provide the physical planning for the crew's study trips from Northern Ireland to the MidEast.  He, along with Rev. Helmick, serve as Executive Producers of the conflict resolution series (Northern Ireland, Balkans, South Africa, Israel).

Clark Booth:  Veteran journalist and television commentator for ABC/Hearst/WCVB television, he has written the South Africa and Israeli-Palestinian scripts.

Narrators:  Will Lyman (3x), Paul Horn, Brian O'Donovan (2x), Studs Terkel, Donald Winning, Chris Claussen, Wren Ross

Additional Crew:

John Kleiderer: He has worked in refugee camps and completed a degree at Notre Dame in Peace Studies.  He was responsible for additional sound and camera, as well as consulting on the Israeli-Palestinian documentary.

Ronald Marsh:  Boston College, responsible for archival and bibliographical research.  In the earlier productions he was an Associate Producer.

Christine Herson:  From Northern Ireland, she served as a key resource (field locations, interviewer, bibliography) for several Northern Ireland productions.

David Shafei:  Of Palestinian heritage, he served as additional camera and assistant field producer for the Israeli-Palestinian documentary.