Overview
- On November 15, the pope received about 200 film professionals at the Apostolic Palace, including Cate Blanchett, Spike Lee, Monica Bellucci, Viggo Mortensen, Chris Pine, Dario Argento, Matteo Garrone, Alison Brie and Judd Apatow.
- He called cinema a popular art and a laboratory of hope, encouraging filmmakers to address violence, poverty, exile, loneliness, addictions and forgotten wars without exploiting suffering.
- Léon XIV urged public support for cultural institutions, saying cinemas and theaters serve as the beating heart of local communities and deserve sustained backing.
- Spike Lee presented a New York Knicks jersey bearing the number 14 in a nod to Léon XIV, and Cate Blanchett praised the pope’s focus on compassion and engagement with global problems.
- The audience followed a Vatican video of his four favorite films—It's a Wonderful Life, The Sound of Music, Ordinary People and Life Is Beautiful—and recent outreach that included private meetings with Robert De Niro and, earlier in his pontificate, Al Pacino.