Overview
- More than 160 directors, actors and technicians convened in the Sala Clementina at the Dicastery for Culture’s invitation, including Cate Blanchett, Spike Lee, Viggo Mortensen and Monica Bellucci.
- León XIV urged institutions to act to safeguard movie theaters, calling cinemas and theaters the “beating hearts” of cities and neighborhoods with vital social and cultural value.
- He criticized the “logic of the algorithm” for rewarding repetition and encouraged storytellers to embrace slowness, silence and difference when the story requires it.
- The Pope called on artists to confront the world’s wounds—war, displacement, poverty, loneliness and addiction—stressing that great cinema accompanies pain rather than exploits it.
- Coverage of the audience underscored weak post‑pandemic attendance, noting US and Canadian multiplexes had their worst summer since 1981, while Spike Lee marked the occasion by gifting a personalized New York Knicks jersey.