Martin Scorsese and his Sikelia Productions will serve as producers on “Aldeas — A New Story,” an upcoming documentary that will feature the final on-camera interviews with the late Pope Francis.
“Aldeas” showcases the work of a cinema initiative of the same name developed by Scholas Occurrentes, an educational movement founded by Pope Francis that seeks to find human stories from across the world that can help bring unity in a divided world.
The “Aldeas” cinema initiative has supported short films from Italy, the Gambia and Indonesia through a group of international sponsors who have also helped fund local cinemas for the short films to premiere in. The making of these shorts through the “Aldeas” program will be interspersed with never-before-seen conversations between Scorsese and Pope Francis.
Scorsese and Francis met several times during the latter’s papacy, bonding over their mutual appreciation for cinema and its ability to build cultural connections. In 2016, Scorsese hosted a private screening at the Vatican of his passion project “Silence,” based on Shusaku Endo’s novel about the persecution of Christian converts in Tokugawa-era Japan and the crisis of faith experienced by a Jesuit priest who travels to Japan to find his mentor who has renounced his faith.
“He was, in every way, a remarkable human being. He acknowledged his own failings. He radiated wisdom. He radiated goodness. He had an ironclad commitment to the good,” Scorsese said of Francis in a statement following his death. “He knew in his soul that ignorance was a terrible plague on humanity. So he never stopped learning. And he never stopped enlightening. And, he embraced, preached and practiced forgiveness. Universal and constant forgiveness.”
Alongside Scorsese, “Aldeas — A New Story” is produced by Massive Owl Production’s Amy Foster, Teresa Leveratto, Ezequiel del Corral and Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, with Lisa Frechette, Romilda de Luca, Ariel Tcach and Ariel Broitman as executive producers. Clare Tavernor and Johnny Shipley are directors.
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, died on April 21 at the age of 88, ending his 12-year pontificate. Born in Argentina, he was the first pope in the history of the Catholic Church to be elected from the Southern Hemisphere and the first elected from the Jesuit Order. The traditional conclave of the College of Cardinals to elect Francis’ successor will be held at the Vatican next week.
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