Caleo Productions was founded in 2016 by Joseph Puleo and Steve Cakouros.
Joseph Puleo graduated from Lindenwood University’s School of Film in 2014. His short film Top Son (2016) was a Top 5 finalist in Kevin Hart’s LOL Network’s "Eat My Shorts" competition and screened at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal.
His debut feature documentary, America’s Last Little Italy: The Hill (2020), about the historic St. Louis neighborhood, aired on PBS stations nationwide. His second feature documentary, A New Home (2022), examines the experiences of Bosnian War refugees in St. Louis, home to more displaced Bosnians than any other city in the world. The film won the Mid-America Emmy for Best Documentary - Cultural and was nominated for Outstanding Regional Documentary at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards.
In 2025, Puleo was awarded the prestigious Better Angels Society Lavine Fellowship in support of his documentary Brothers in Blood: Black in Vietnam (2026). In 2026, his documentary Percy Green: Man of ACTION (2025) received two Gold Telly Awards.
Steve Cakouros is an award-winning producer, editor, and audio engineer. Originally from Summit, New Jersey, he relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of ten. After pursuing a career in music and audio engineering in Los Angeles, Steve returned to St. Louis and graduated Summa Cum Laude at Lindenwood University's School of Film.
