Pope Francis’ tryst with movies: The first pontiff to star in a film; a documentary with Wim Wenders; meetings with Martin Scorsese, Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio | Hollywood News

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has passed away at the age of 88, the Vatican confirmed in a video statement on Monday. Noted for his concern for the poor, Francis, née Jorge Mario Bergoglio, took over as pontiff at a time when the Church was reeling under child sex abuse scandals and infighting in the Vatican bureaucracy. Despite facing criticism from both conservatives — who felt that cherished traditions were being destroyed under his papacy — and progressives, who opined he wasn’t doing enough to fix the horical makes, Francis garnered widespread acclaim with his firm stances, particularly those in favour of the marginalised.
His tumultuous tenure, as well as promotion of interfaith dialogue and peace, drew the attention of filmmakers too. Interestingly, legendary German filmmaker and photographer Wim Wenders crafted a documentary film, titled Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (2018), focusing on his life and goals. The movie was crafted stitching snippets from interviews with the pontiff and visuals from his journeys.

‘Pope Francis had the same presence as greatest movie stars’
“The Pope has the same presence as some of the greatest movie stars I’ve worked with. But it comes from inside, from his convictions and his faith, and from his desire to talk to all of us,” Wenders shared during a chat with BBC. Interestingly, Francis agreed to collaborate with the director without having watched even a single one of his movies. “He talked about paedophilia without hesitation, and that was when he was at his angriest. We really felt the fury in him – that he would like to do so much more but he’s only one man,” the filmmaker noted.
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Pope Francis’ favourite films
“The film is about a man who wants to move his church and talk to everybody, not just Catholics and Chrians. His is not just a Chrian message. It’s a message to all people of goodwill, and that’s who he wants to address,” he added. According to The Guardian, Pope Francis’s favourite films were Rome, Open City; Babette’s Feast; and La Strada. While Angelina Jolie met him in January 2015 to present her film Unbroken (2014), Leonardo DiCaprio met the Pope in 2016 to discuss climate change.

First pope to star in a film
Besides the documentary, Francis also became the first pope to star in a film. He played himself in Beyond the Sun (2018), an indie based on the gospels. In his six-minute scene, Francis was seen narrating Jesus’ teachings with a group of children. “He is used to having cameras in front of him now. He would advise [the crew] and be like, ‘The light is better this way’. I didn’t direct him. He was the one directing me,” the indie’s director, Graciela Rodriguez Gilio, told The Hollywood Reporter.
In 2023, he had also urged filmmakers to “reawaken wonder”, emphasising that a good movie had the power to inspire wonder. “In an increasingly artificial world, where man has surrounded himself with the works of his own hands, the great risk is to lose a sense of wonder. I share this reflection with you, entrusting you with the task to reawaken wonder,” he told filmmakers.

Pope Francis met Martin Scorsese
Following this, cinema legend Martin Scorsese, in May 2023, met Francis before announcing that he would be making a film about Jesus. “I have responded to the Pope’s appeal to arts in the only way I know how: imagining and writing a screenplay for a film about Jesus. And I’m about to start making it,” Variety quoted him as saying.Story continues below this ad
Soon after news about Pope Francis’ demise broke, one interview given the cast of director Edward Berger’s 2024 political thriller Conclave grabbed immediate attention. While the movie revolved around a conclave to elect the next pope, it hit the screens at a time when Francis was facing health issues owing to a severe case of double pneumonia. “We are very, very worried for our pope. We love this pope — Papa Francesco, Pope Francis. We wish him well. We wish him to recover,” actor Isabella Rossellini, who played a key role in the movie, was quoted as saying The Wrap. “Yes, if [he] would pass, it would be a conclave,” she added.