Martin Scorsese to Produce Pope Francis Doc ‘Aldeas — A New Story’

Martin Scorsese is behind a documentary feature that counted Pope Francis as a collaborator prior to his death earlier this month.

Aldeas — A New Story is in development from Scholas Occurrentes, the worldwide educational movement that the late Pope founded. Scorsese is a producer on the movie that focuses on the Aldeas cinema initiative, which was borne out of Pope Francis’ interest in education, film production and community building.

The feature centers on the behind-the-scenes stories for the scripted short films being made across the globe through the Aldeas project. Aldeas — A New Story will include previously unseen conversations between Scorsese and Pope Francis, along with the late Pope’s final in-depth on-camera interview for a feature.

“Aldeas is 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,” Pope Francis said in a statement before his death.

Scorsese added, “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. 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.”

Its creative team includes directors Clare Tavernor and Johnny Shipley and producer Amy Foster. Serving as producers are Scorsese, Teresa Leveratto, Ezequiel del Corral and Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. Romilda De Luca is among the executive producers.

Aldeas — A New Story hails from Aldeas Scholas Films, in association with Sikelia Productions and Massive Owl Productions.