By Jay Sorgi • Posted September 8, 2025

A Philadelphia-area Catholic filmmaker is ready for the U.S. premier of his movie about an addict who gave his life to Christ — and is on the path to sainthood.

“Matt Talbot: Urban Mystic” is a documentary and drama about the life of the alcoholic man from Ireland and his journey of redemption, intense devotion to the Eucharist, and complete calling to service for those in need.

The film comes 100 years after Talbot’s passing in 1925, and depicts a man who was declared venerable by Pope Paul VI, a step toward potential sainthood.

Joyful Films, which won a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award in 2024 for a production on Philadelphia’s own St. Katharine Drexel, premiered the new film on Friday, Sept. 5 at Oaks Center Cinema in Oaks, Montgomery County. The free screening drew attendees who had pre-registered through matttalbotfilm.com.

Parishes, schools or other groups wishing to host a screening of the film can click here to contact the filmmakers.

“I just want to give what God has given to me,” said Bill Rose of Joyful Films, who served as director, producer, and editor of the film. “That is faith, gratitude, abundant blessings, and bringing light into dark places.”

That theme of light in darkness reflects Talbot’s own story of sobriety and service in Christ, particularly in 1884 when his life had hit practical and spiritual rock-bottom.

“Matt’s story is the story of one simple ‘Yes’ to the Lord on a hot day in Dublin, a Saturday where he had been out of work all week because he was out drinking. He got sober about the middle of the day,” said Rose.

“Something touched him and he decided to take the pledge of sobriety. He walked over to the Clonliffe Seminary, (went to) confession (and) spiritual direction, took the pledge, and one day at a time didn’t pick up a drink for over 40 years after that.”

Talbot later centered his life around a group of Catholic churches in Dublin, where he consistently attended multiple daily Masses and prayed before the Blessed Sacrament for hours each day in what Rose called a “mystical relationship.”

“He just couldn’t get enough of Jesus. We know now in 12-step recovery that the solution is a higher power, and so for him, it was Jesus,” said Rose. “We actually depict and allow the viewer to step into his shoes and to see what a relationship with Jesus can be.”

Filmed partially in Dublin and in Philadelphia, the movie combines dramatizations with interviews from experts, along with powerful testimonies from those who have found intercession and inspiration from Talbot.

One of them is Delaware Valley native Ken Johnston, who served as the movie’s co-executive producer and someone who shared his own story of recovery.

(Watch a short feature on the making of “Matt Talbot: Urban Mystic” here)

“Thirty-three years and eight months ago, in the middle of an alcoholic blackout, I talked to somebody that took me to a 12-step meeting the next night. It’s been that long since I’ve had my last drink,” said Johnston of Our House Ministries. He served as president of the Calix Society, an international Catholic organization for people in addiction recovery.

“Whether it’s 12-step meetings, the Calix Society, the men’s group in the parish, whatever opportunity I get to be able to share about my Catholic faith and what God’s done for me is awesome. When Bill approached us with this project, it was definitely in God’s timing, the way the whole thing started out.”

Father Doug McKay’s journey with Talbot started in the 1970s, as the Philadelphia archdiocesan priest has dedicated much of his ministry to addicted individuals, particularly in the city’s Gray’s Ferry neighborhood.

“He and I connected in 2009 as I had started the first Calix group here in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia,” said Johnston. A talk that he heard four years later on a Matt Talbot retreat made him “a central part of my spiritual life.”

“Talbot really became a central focus of the Our House Ministries and our Calix unit,” Johnston adds.

“Every time we get together, we pray the prayer for Matt Talbot’s canonization. There’s a prayer for overcoming alcoholism and addiction that we pray any time we get together. And, you know, Matt’s right in the forefront of all that.”

Rose shared that in 2024, he thought about doing a short film about Talbot’s life.

“No, that’s not what happened,” Rose jokes. “Michael Murphy, who is interviewed in the movie, ended up telling me about all the different people that we need to talk to (and) all the places we need to visit that were significant to his life, all being in Dublin. After that, it was clear that this was going to be a bigger undertaking than I originally anticipated.”

Filming in Dublin and Philadelphia commenced in December 2024 and into the spring of 2025, and Rose edited it in time to introduce the film in time for June 7, the anniversary date of Talbot’s death.

“The film is about addiction, but it’s very solution-focused,” said Rose. “You’ll see modern-day stories of recovery alongside the beautiful story of Matt Talbot, but all focused on how one breaks free from the chains of any addiction, no matter what it is.”

Rose says Talbot gave the blueprints of that pathway to sobriety.

“He was working what today we know as the 12 steps before the 12 steps ever existed,” said Rose, “but he was working those steps simply by practicing his Catholic faith.”