Overview
- About three dozen actors and directors are invited, including Cate Blanchett, Chris Pine, Adam Scott, Spike Lee, George Miller, Gus Van Sant, Alison Brie, Dave Franco and Viggo Mortensen.
- The special audience will take place Saturday at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, according to the official announcement.
- A Vatican statement says the pope wants to deepen dialogue with the world of cinema to explore how artistic creativity can serve the Church’s mission and promote human values.
- Ahead of the event, the Vatican released Pope Leo’s four favorite films: It’s a Wonderful Life, The Sound of Music, Ordinary People and Life Is Beautiful.
- The outreach follows recent individual meetings with film figures, including Robert De Niro on Nov. 7, and comes in a context where such celebrity gatherings are uncommon though not without precedent.