When you hear the name Martin Scorsese, typically, beautifully crafted movies about gangsters – like “GoodFellas” or “Casino” – come to mind. However, the dynamic filmmaker has reinvented himself over the years, and this time, he’s serving as the narrator, executive producer and host of an eight-part docudrama on Catholic saints called “The Saints,” streaming now on Fox Nation.
The creator of this series is a Jewish Israeli producer, Matti Leshem. Together, Scorsese and Leshem showcase the stories of saints like Joan of Arc, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Sebastian and Maximilian Kolbe, who was accused of antisemitism but ultimately provided refuge to Jews during World War II.
The Journal spoke with Leshem about why he decided to make a series about Catholic saints, working with the legendary Scorsese and creating content about antisemitism in a post-Oct. 7 world. The interview has been edited for clarity.
Jewish Journal: How did the idea for this project come about?
Matti Leshem: The origins of this project are deeply rooted in personal history. In 1968, when my father served as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, I was sent to Ramaz, a prestigious Jewish school in New York. Then, in the 1970s, when my father was appointed Ambassador to Denmark, I found myself enrolled in a Catholic school in Copenhagen, run by English nuns. It was there that I was first exposed to the stories of the Saints. I was struck by the notion that some individuals were willing to die for their convictions. As a Jew, this concept resonated deeply with me—our own tradition speaks of dying Al Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of God’s name). What these figures represented, beyond religious boundaries, was a radical commitment to a cause larger than themselves.
When I was introduced to Martin Scorsese, and presented the concept of a series focused on the Saints, it turned out that he too had always been interested in doing a series about “The Saints” and had actually tried to develop one in the late 80’s. After a three-hour intense conversation, he shook my hand, and we decided to work together.
JJ: How does your family background influence your work? I know your father was a Holocaust survivor, and your grandmother was killed in Auschwitz.
ML: My family history has had a profound impact on my work. I gravitate toward stories that examine the best of humanity confronting the worst in the most brutal of circumstances. My work—whether it’s “The Survivor,” which explores Harry Haft’s harrowing battle for life in a concentration camp, or “The Commandant’s Shadow,” which delves into the psyche of Rudolph Höss, the Auschwitz commandant—consistently grapples with questions of morality, survival and belief. I often ask myself, “What would I have done? Could I have endured? What do I stand for?”
In “The Saints,” the characters never have the benefit of knowing they will be canonized. Their heroism is unsung in their lifetimes. We witness their lives unfold with all their flaws, complexities and moments of grace. The series invites us to consider not just the nature of faith, but the lengths to which one goes to live it authentically, despite the challenges of the world around them.
JJ: What was it like working with Martin Scorsese?
ML: Working with Martin Scorsese is, without exaggeration, the greatest experience of my professional life. Marty is a bona fide maestro, not just in the art of filmmaking, but in his vast understanding of history, politics, literature and the humanities. His intellectual generosity is extraordinary—every collaboration feels like an intimate masterclass, not only in cinema but in life itself. His attention to detail, his relentless pursuit of truth, and his deep empathy for the subjects we tackle made working with him a transformative experience.
Though we approached the lives of the Saints from different traditions, our shared commitment to exploring the complexity of faith and the human condition made our collaboration perfect.
JJ: I see there is a lot about antisemitism in your new work. Why was it important to include this, especially in a post-October 7 world, and what can we learn from it?
ML: In “The Saints,” one of the most fascinating and troubling stories we tell is that of Maximilian Maria Kolbe. Kolbe was a Polish priest who, for much of his life, was a vocal proponent of antisemitic conspiracy theories. His Catholic radio station propagated the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” When the war began and the Nazis invaded Poland, Kolbe sheltered over 1,500 Jews in his monastery. He was repeatedly arrested by the Nazis and eventually sent to Auschwitz. In Auschwitz, Kolbe sacrificed himself for a fellow inmate who he didn’t know by taking his place in a starvation bunker. This act of self-sacrifice is deeply complex. Kolbe’s antisemitism never simply disappears, yet his relationship with the Jewish people changes, and his ultimate selfless act, giving his life for another, complicates any easy moral judgments.
In a post-October 7 world, when antisemitism is on the rise again, these stories are more necessary than ever. The resurgence of hatred, particularly toward Jews, is neither new nor incidental—it is a recurrent thread in human history. Telling stories of the Nazi genocide and the people who resisted it forces us to confront these uncomfortable truths and, I hope, galvanize a collective commitment to confront hatred in all its forms.
JJ: Why is it crucial to tell these stories?
ML: These stories are undeniably inspirational. But they are not inspirational in the conventional sense; they do not offer neat resolutions or simple answers. Instead, they push us to examine our own beliefs and values. What would we do in the face of great adversity? These are questions that transcend religious or ideological boundaries.
“The stories of the Saints are universally compelling because they invite us to confront the most fundamental aspects of what it means to be human and to have faith.”
Whether you are an atheist, a Jew, a Christian or any other faith, the stories of the Saints are universally compelling because they invite us to confront the most fundamental aspects of what it means to be human and to have faith.
JJ: What is your ultimate goal with all the work you’re doing?
ML: My goal is not simply to entertain, but to provoke thought, to challenge the audience to engage with the deeper questions of history, faith, and morality. I want my work to invite viewers into a conversation about what they believe in—what they are willing to fight for, what they are willing to stand up for. In a world where so many institutions have eroded and faith in our shared values seems to be in decline, I believe that stories rooted in the great traditions of humanity have the power to reawaken a sense of purpose, and even reverence.
I am not interested in proselytizing any particular ideology; rather, I want to spark an ongoing conversation. These are stories that come from the 2,000-year-old canon of one of the world’s great religions, but the themes they address, sacrifice, redemption and belief, are universal. If I can contribute to keeping those stories alive and relevant, then I will have succeeded. The world needs to remember these narratives now more than ever.
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