Francesco: The Pope

This groundbreaking film features unprecedented access to His Holiness Pope Francis, providing an intimate look at a global leader who approaches challenging and complex issues with tremendous humility, wisdom and generosity towards all.

2020 | Running Time: 1 Hour 56 minutes | Rating: TV-14

From Oscar® nominated director and producer, Evgeny Afineevksy, FRANCESCO features unprecedented access to His Holiness Pope Francis, providing an intimate look at a global leader who approaches challenging and complex issues with tremendous humility, wisdom and generosity towards all. Spanning issues such as climate change, migration and refugees, women’s empowerment, sexual abuse and LGBTQ+ issues, pandemic, border walls, and many more of today’s headlines, this documentary takes audiences on a worldwide journey to spotlight the incredible empathy displayed by a leader who continues to inspire hope during an extraordinary moment in our lifetime. In doing so, the film examines how people might take action to transition into a new way of living and thriving in the 21st century. In addition to unprecedented access to Pope Francis, the film features interviews with those who have been part of his journey, including his nephew Jose Ignacio Bergoglio, His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, as well as Juan Carlos Cruz, a victim and activist for survivors of sexual abuse, and Sister Norma Pimentel, an advocate for refugees. FRANCESCO paints a portrait of a man who has dedicated his life to bringing together people to thrive as a global community.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Award-winning filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky built his career on demonstrating a commitment to documenting important stories of change and social justice. His film WINTER ON FIRE: UKRAINE’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM was an official Selection of the Venice and Telluride International Film Festivals. It was nominated for an Oscar and an Emmy and won the People’s Choice Award for the Best Documentary from the Toronto International Film Festival. Afineevsky’s documentary CRIES FROM SYRIA (2017), about the brutal five-year civil war in Syria, was nominated for four Emmy Awards, earned a nomination for Best Documentary from the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, and Afineevsky won International Documentary Association’s Courage Under Fire Award, and a Humanities Prize and Cinema for Peace Awards as Most Valuable Documentary of the Year.

Tags: Documentary, Feature