Acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese has announced a forthcoming documentary that will showcase the final on-camera interview with the late Pope Francis, capturing the pontiff’s enduring message of compassion, creativity, and cross-cultural dialogue.
Titled Aldeas – A New Story, the film explores the global impact of Scholas Occurrentes, a global non-profit foundation launched by Pope Francis in 2013 to foster understanding and collaboration among young people from diverse backgrounds.
The documentary is a joint effort by Scorsese’s production company, Sikelia Productions, and Aldeas Scholas Film.
The project intertwines Scorsese’s conversations with Pope Francis with the stories of young participants from Italy, Indonesia and Gambia, who take part in the Aldeas initiative by creating short films that reflect their lives and communities.
According to the Guardian, the producers aim for the documentary to be “a testament to the enduring belief that creativity is not only a means of expression but a path to hope and transformation”.
Prior to his passing on April 21, Pope Francis told the newspaper that the Aldeas programme was “an extremely poetic and very constructive project because it goes to the roots of what human life is, human sociability, human conflicts ... the essence of a life’s journey”.
Though no release date has been confirmed, Scorsese hopes the documentary will serve as both a memorial to the late pontiff and an invitation to embrace storytelling as a bridge across cultures.
“Now, more than ever, we need to talk to each other, listen to one another cross-culturally. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by sharing the stories of who we are, reflected from our personal lives and experiences," he told the newspaper.
“It helps us understand and value how each of us sees the world. It was important to Pope Francis for people across the globe to exchange ideas with respect while also preserving their cultural identity, and cinema is the best medium to do that.”
The film comes at a poignant moment for the Catholic Church, with the recent passing of Pope Francis and the election of a new Pope, Leo XIV.
Reflecting on their many conversations, Scorsese described Pope Francis to the Guardian as a man of forgiveness and “a remarkable human being” who "had an ironclad commitment to the good".
