Wim Wenders, writer and director of the new film about the Pope has described how meeting Francis "made me realise how courageous he was, how fearless".
As Pope Francis marked five years in office this week, the prominent German filmmaker and playwright spoke to Vatican News about his new documentary “Pope Francis - A Man of His Word”.
He said: "I had the highest regard for Pope Francis before I ever met him, just from seeing him on television and from reading his sermons or his encyclicals. But meeting him eye to eye, and then also seeing and hearing him every day in the editing room, not only in our own interviews, but also his many talks all over the world, to refugees, prisoners, politicians, scientists, children, rich or poor or regular people, made me realise how courageous he was, how fearless."
The director, who has been nominated for three Academy Awards, also spoke about his reaction to first being invited to make the film: "Not in my wildest dreams would I have expected to make a film about Pope Francis. When I got the letter with an invitation to come to the Vatican and discuss with Don Dario Viganó the possibility of a film about the Pope, I first took a deep breath, and then I walked around the block. It seemed that such a project would represent a huge responsibility, at least it would be a whole different kind of task than any film I had made before. But of course I would go and find out what Don Dario had in mind.
"It turned out that he offered me Carte Blanche, let me write a concept and define myself the film I could imagine. And the Vatican would not interfere, and would open its archive for us. I said yes. Of course."
During production, Wenders, who both wrote and directed the film, said that he was "very impressed how open Pope Francis was to each question, and how directly and spontaneously he answered. And after each of our four long sessions, he took time to shake everybody’s hands, and did not make any difference between producer or director or electrician or assistant."
The documentary trailer was released to mark the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis' papacy. The full film is due for release on May 18. Wenders said that "it fulfilled the high hopes I had for it: that it would allow Pope Francis to speak directly to every viewer and listener, almost face to face, about all his concerns and all the issues that matter to him. This wasn’t meant to be a film about him, but with him."
Watch the official trailer of the new film about Pope Francis
Pic: Pope at General Audience. Credit: PA
Loading ...
