John Cuddihy

Exec. VP and Managing Director

Lightworks Program Distribution

World Screen Weekly, October 19, 2006

Looking for new business opportunities has been a constant theme in John Cuddihy’s career: from New World Entertainment, where he was charged with opening the Asian market to American programming, to launching The History Channel in international territories at a time when the channel was not well known outside the U.S.

Today, as executive VP and managing director of Lightworks Program Distribution, Cuddihy enjoys the entrepreneurial spirit of his company. “We’re involved in production issues; we are exploring new avenues for distribution and it’s very exciting,” he says.

Cuddihy came to Lightworks through a friend who introduced him to David Dreilinger, the company’s president and CEO. “We were of a like mind,” says Cuddihy. “We see the business going in multiple directions with different categories [of programming]. We feel that the category of social justice and spirituality has not been very well addressed and there is a crying need for it.”

C.S. Lewis: Beyond Narnia is just the type of programming that has filled that need. It’s a one-hour docudrama about the literary legend, shot in Oxford, England, where Lewis came up with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. “We distributed it to 8 countries and it was very well received,” says Cuddihy. “It did extremely well for the BBC.” Other docudramas distributed by Lightworks have looked at the lives of Saint Patrick, Saint Francis and Joan of Arc.

Lightworks is offering international buyers Michael Apted’s Being Married, from the filmmaker who made the famous Up series. Being Married is a two-part feature-length documentary that takes a close look at the courtship and marriage of nine couples. The company will also be offering buyers Lives for Sale, a one-hour documentary that examines the real-life stories of the human trafficking industry; and Come into the Light, the true story of Father Pino Pugliesi and his plight to help underprivileged children in Palermo, Sicily, escape the dangerous grip of the Mafia.

Lightworks distributes programming produced by its parent company, Faith & Values Media, as well as from third-party producers. “We’re looking for programs of substance,” says Cuddihy. “Lightworks is able to expand beyond the vision and mission of Faith & Values. We like programming that deals with social justice; we want to put a sharp focus on what’s going on in life.”

Cuddihy is enjoying this new chapter in his career. “Lightworks is a great work in progress; we’re a growing business that’s in the right place at the right time.”