{"id":13307,"date":"2018-05-07T12:20:58","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T16:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=13307"},"modified":"2018-05-07T12:20:58","modified_gmt":"2018-05-07T16:20:58","slug":"pope-francis-man-word-brings-together-award-winning-director-vatican","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2018\/05\/pope-francis-man-word-brings-together-award-winning-director-vatican.html","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPope Francis \u2013 A Man of His Word\u201d Brings together Award Winning Director and Vatican"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"pope-francis-1784304_1920\"<\/a>The Vatican is famous for holding its cards close, a habit that has spawned a thousand conspiracy theories. As such, it is rare that the Vatican collaborates with outsiders. They made a rare exception for three time Academy Award nominee Wim Wenders and his film \u201cPope Francis \u2013 A Man of His Word.\u201d The film is only the second co-production the Vatican has made with an outside film maker.<\/p>\n

\u201cPope Francis\u201d is not meant to be a biographical documentary about the 266th<\/sup> leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Instead, it is \u201cintended to be a personal journey with Pope Francis\u2026[and] the Pope\u2019s ideas and his message are central to [the] documentary.\u201d The film follows the Pope around the world and includes footage of him speaking at the United Nations, United States Congress and mourning at Ground Zero and Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

The dedicated camera crew followed Pope Francis to the Holy Land, Africa, South America and Asia while the Pope shared \u201chis 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.\u201d Given the Pope\u2019s areas of interest, the film also explores accounts of the Pope\u2019s namesake, the original Saint Francis, who was himself a reformer and early ecologist.<\/p>\n

According to the film\u2019s website, a \u201csymphony of questions\u201d forms the \u201cbackbone for the film\u201d which \u201csets out to present his work of reform and his answers to today\u2019s global questions from death, social justice, immigration, ecology, wealthy inequality, materialism and the role of the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The choice of Wim Wenders as writer and director has caught as much national attention as the premise of the film itself. Wenders was nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Academy Award for his work on \u201cThe Salt of the Earth,\u201d \u201cPina\u201d and \u201cBuena Vista Social Club.\u201d That he was the man the Vatican chose to open its doors to and collaborate with has been a source of fascination to those interested in the upcoming film.<\/p>\n

\u201cPope Francis\u2013A Man of His Word\u201d will be released on May 18, 2018, and give the world an unprecedented glimpse into the inner workings of the Vatican and the life of the man who heads the largest Christian domination on Earth. The trailer is available online now<\/a>, and more information about the film can be found on the official website.<\/a><\/p>\n