The official trailer of a new film on Pope Francis was released on Tuesday, the fifth anniversary of his pontificate. Source: Vatican News.
Pope Francis – A Man of His Word, written and directed by three-time Academy Award nominee Wim Wenders, is intended to be a personal journey with Pope Francis, rather than a biographical documentary about him.
Msgr Dario Edoardo Viganò, Prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for Communication, set the project rolling when he invited Mr Wenders to make a film with the Holy Father.
Pope Francis’ ideas and message are central to the film, which presents his work of reform and his answers to today’s global questions regarding death, social justice, immigration, ecology, wealth inequality, materialism, and the role of the family.
The film’s direct-to-camera visual and narrative concepts place the audience face-to-face with the Pope, creating a dialogue between him and the world. Pope Francis responds to the questions of farmers and workers, refugees, children and the elderly, prison inmates, and those who live in favelas and migrant camps. All of these voices and faces are a cross section of humanity that join in a conversation with Pope Francis.
These questions provide the backbone for the film, which also shows the Pontiff on his many journeys around the world. It features footage of him speaking at the United Nations, addressing the Congress of the United States, and mourning with those gathered at Ground Zero and at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem. He speaks to prisoners in correctional facilities and to refugees in Mediterranean camps.
Throughout the film, Pope Francis shares his vision of the Church and his deep concern for the poor, his involvement in environmental issues and social justice, and his call for peace in areas of conflict and between world religions. The film also connects Francis to his saintly namesake, through accounts of legendary moments in St Francis of Assisi’s own life as a reformer and ecologist.
FULL STORY
Pope Francis – A Man of His Word (Vatican News)
RELATED COVERAGE
Wim Wenders: ‘Pope speaks directly to viewer in new film’ (Vatican News)
Vatican Releases Wim Wenders’ Pope Francis Documentary Trailer (Variety)
