Providence Pictures believes stories can change the world.
filming for Riddles of the Sphinx (photo by Mark Bussell)
Providence Pictures has produced over 50 programs for PBS, Discovery, History, National Geographic, BBC, Arte and others.
Through stunning photography, powerful narrative, inventive animation, and cinematic reenactment, a Providence Pictures production translates complicated ideas into engaging stories. Our programs consistently earn high ratings, achieve critical acclaim, and attract major funding.
Providence Pictures films have won and been honored with nominations for the industry’s most prestigious awards: seven Emmys, two Writers Guild Awards, the AAA Science Journalism Prize, the CINE Golden Eagle Special Jury Award, and the International Archaeology Film Festival Award.
We specialize in history, science, religion, art, archaeology, and the ancient world.
These films include Native America, a landmark series for PBS, the Building Wonders series for NOVA and ARTE and seen worldwide on National Geographic, and The Bible’s Buried Secrets for NOVA/PBS.
The Trial of Jesus, The True Story of Troy, and The Real Scorpion King for History
Women Pharaohs and Lost Mummy of Imhotep for Discovery.
Christopher Davis examines 14,000 year-old calendar in the Amazon in NATIVE AMERICA
Native America was the fifth highest rated special series on PBS and in the top ten of all PBS series. Building Wonders ranks amongst the highest rated programs on NOVA/PBS and all six films in the series achieved the highest ratings on the French Arte flagship series “Human Adventure.”
The Colosseum film from the Building Wonders series actually made history. The production designed an ancient lift and trap door system, installed it in the Colosseum in Rome, and released a wolf into the arena for the first time in 1500 years. The lift is now a permanent installation at this world monument.
Secrets of the Parthenon won the Writers Guild of America’s award for best documentary, was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Science and Technology Program, and won the CINE Golden Eagle Special Jury Award.
Looking to the future, Providence Pictures is venturing into feature films and an augmented reality story-telling app.
Who We (Mainly) Are
Gary Glassman - President/Producer/Director - Gary comes to television from street and circus performing. VHS was the technological breakthrough that changed his life. His earliest film and video works are media art projects with marginalized populations—prisoners, hospitalized children, developmentally challenged adults, seniors, and the criminally insane. He made films with Spalding Gray and artists John Chamberlain and Jonathan Borofsky. Prisoners, his first documentary, is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Pompidou Center in Paris. Gary received a BA from Goddard College and a Masters of Fine Arts in Directing from UCLA’s Department of Theater, Television, and Film. He started Providence Pictures in 1996.
Maureen Barden Lynch – Senior Coordinating Producer – Budget and schedule three international co-productions on three different continents? No problem. Maureen is the consummate production management professional. She loves meticulous, logistical planning, and administering our legal and financial affairs from conception to delivery of complex multi-partner, national and international projects. Maureen came to Providence Pictures in 2008 from WGBH where she managed post-production for the PBS science series NOVA and various jobs at American Experience, the PBS history series. Maureen’s mantra is on time and on budget, ohm!
Ben Sweeney - Director of Operations – Ben is the institutional oracle of Providence Pictures. He’s been here since 2003, and knows and supervises everything from research, to shoot planning and logistics, stock footage, media management and edit prep. He is the friendliest of collaborators as he works with our talented teams of producers, animators, and composers to ensure the highest possible quality. And he’s smart! He teaches courses in film history, theory, and screenwriting at Providence College, his alma mater.