About John

John J. O’Keefe, Ph.D. is a Theologian and Documentary filmmaker based at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH where he serves as Director of The Brueggeman Center for Dialogue. 

He has produced and directed six films in collaboration with students as a part of the Backpack Journalism Project at Creighton University, and four independent documentaries. His most recent film, The Last Prairie, offers a portrait of the Sandhills grassland in western Nebraska, one of the last remaining prairie landscapes in the world. A new film called Terraforming Iowa is in production.

His academic research has focused on the history and theology of ancient Christianity, especially in the area of ancient Christian biblical interpretation. He is currently interested in ecological theology and efforts to put ancient wisdom in dialogue with the critical needs of the world.

Oakswing Films

O’Keefe’s film projects are “Oakswing Productions". The name “Oakswing” was inspired by a swing that hung from a burr oak tree at his former home in the Ponca Hills near Omaha, Nebraska.

Burr oaks once populated the prairies like islands in a sea of grass.  The oldest of these oaks were saplings in the 19th century, when Willa Cather was conceiving “My Antonia”.  Here they still stand, gently reminding us of the limits of our own time on this planet.