News

New documentary recounts the kidnapping of a Catholic priest Albany, NY – The 2016 disappearance of beloved Albany priest Fr. Rene Robert is the subject of a new documentary by Florida based production company Stella Mar Films, and Albany will have the chance to see the film this Tuesday, January 29, followed by Huntington on January 31 in one of two pre-premiere screenings. Fr. Rene grew up in Albany and was ordained at St. Mary of the Assumption church before moving to St. Augustine, Flori...

 Help us bring Fr. Rene's story to the world Fr. Rene Robert devoted his life to those in need, but he was killed by someone he tried to help—someone he called a friend. Prosecutors pushed for the death penalty after 28-year-old Stephen Murray confessed to the crime, but nothing could stop Fr. Rene from fighting for what he believed in—not even death.  Free Gifts for Supporters Stella Mar Films documented this powerful true story for two years! The film is finally complete, but the costs o...

Many of you were struck by the video we released last October featuring Meghan Schexnayder Greco, one of the pilgrims we brought to Medjugorje, and her experience during Mirjana's October 2nd apparition. As you may recall from the video, Meghan had been battling cancer for 7 years. See the video here. Sadly, Meghan passed away on January 15, 2019.  We were devestated by the news, but also incredibly grateful that we got to know her in Medjugorje. We were blessed to have Meghan and her mother ...

New crime documentary recounts the kidnapping of Catholic priest   Houston, TX — The 2016 disappearance of beloved Florida priest Fr. Rene Robert is the subject of a new documentary by production company Stella Mar Films, and Houston residents have another chance to see the film this Thursday, January 24. (buy tickets here) The encore Houston screening of Where There is Darkness is being hosted by the filmmakers themselves, including co-director/producer Cimela Kidonakis, a Houston local and ...

Medjugorje has been turned into a winter wonderland! A recent cold front brought heavy snow to the area, which covered Apparition Hill, Cross Mountain, and even the town itself. Our amazing cameraman Jozo Ivankovic, whose family runs Medjugorje's Photo and Video Studio called Foto Dani, recorded this beautiful drone footage of the snow. A big "hvala" to Jozo for sharing! _________________________________   BEFORE AND AFTER SNOW Also, see this Before and After video that Jozo and Foto Dani...

SEE THE VIDEO BELOW When our Scottish friend Magnus Macfarlane-Barrow asked us to join him and actor Gerard Butler on a trip to Haiti, we jumped at the chance. Well, actually we flew! Our mission: to document the work that Mary's Meals is doing in Haiti and create a series of online videos to help this amazing charity feed even more children around the world. We have a special place in our heart for this charity, the story of which is part of our next feature-length documentary Cross Mountain...

Stella Mar Films is excited to announce that its newest feature, Where There Is Darkness, has won the awards for both best documentary and best director in the Los Angeles Crime and Horror Film Festival. Winners were announced on November 18, 2018 at the film festival's conclusion by a panel of judges including industry representatives. "We're humbled and awed at the power of Fr. Rene's story to transcend cultural divides," said Cimela Kidonakis, who co-directed the film with Sean Bloomfield....

Members of the Stella Mar Films team (Sean, Cimela, and Jozo) just returned from a 4-day film shoot in Haiti to document the amazing work being done by Mary's Meals. Traveling with a small group of people which included actor Gerard Butler and Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, the charity's founder, made this adventure unforgettable, and being among the beautiful people of Haiti inspired us to do all we can to continue spreading the word about Mary's Meals. We will be creating a series of online vide...

Medjugorje Movie+Movie+Music Gift Pack Get the Apparition Hill DVD Set, Soundtrack CD, and two Miraculous Medals from Medjugorje in this amazing deal! BUY NOW   Please consider supporting our mission by purchasing our unique Stella Mar items as Christmas gifts! As our gift to you, here are some valuable limited-time offers. CHRISTMAS DISCOUNT 10% off any order Use code CHR33 at checkout Choose from anything in our shop!    Thank you, and Merry Christmas from Stella Mar Films!    

The 2016 disappearance of beloved St. Augustine priest Fr. Rene Robert is the subject of a new documentary by Central Florida-based production company Stella Mar Films, and residents of the Space Coast have a chance to see a Sneak Peak of the rought cut on Sunday, December 16, in the area’s first-ever showing of the film. Filmmakers Sean Bloomfield, Cimela Kidonakis and Jessi Hannapel have been documenting the story for over two years. Although they are still working on the final cut of the f...

We recently held the first European showing of our new film Where There Is Darkness in Mostar, near Medjugorje. The cinema was full of locals from Medjugorje as well visitors from other countries, and when the film ended, there were few dry eyes in the theater... but also lots of smiles. We were thrilled that the visionary Mirjana Soldo came from Medjugorje to see the movie with her family. She told us that she loved the film, especially its message of forgiveness and God's love, and that ...

Aside from making movies like Apparition Hill and Where There is Darkness, the Stella Mar Films team leads pilgrimages to Medjugorje (see our 2019 trips). Our most recent pilgrimage coincided with visionary Mirjana Soldo's October 2nd apparition. As usual, we documented the experience in high-definition video and edited a short mini-documentary, which is now freely available for anyone to watch online (see it below). Nearly everyone who was present during the apparition noticed the young lady...