Martin Scorsese’s Pope Francis film ‘Aldeas’ premieres at Vatican one year after pontiff’s death

Published on 21/04/2026 - 10:52 GMT+2

Aldeas, the Final Dream of Pope Francis will world premiere at the Vatican today as part of events commemorating the first anniversary of the late Pontiff’s death.

The cultural projectoverseen byMartin Scorsese features Pope Francis’ last on-screen testimony, recorded shortly before his death.

Aldeas, which was filmed across various countries including Italy, Indonesia, The Gambia, and Vatican City, will be unveiled in an intimate screening at the Vatican organised by Scholas Occurrentes, the global educational movement founded by Pope Francis.

Pope Francis entrusted the overseeing of Aldeas to Scorsese, a project the late pontiff described as “an extraordinarily poetic and deeply transformative project, because it reaches the very root of human life: our sociability, our conflicts, and the very essence of life’s journey.”

Speaking one year after Pope Francis’ death, Scorsese said: “Pope Francis understood that cinema would play a fundamental role in making the culture of encounter a reality”.

“This film is a tribute to the Holy Father,” he added. “It honors his memory by embodying the spirit of his ministry and his dream of creating an ever more human culture. At this moment in history, I believe that is not only a dream, but a necessity.”

The premiere of Aldeas comes amid a dispute between Pope Leo XIV and Donald Trump.

After the Pope called Trump’s threat that a “whole civilization will die” (in reference to Iran) to be “truly unacceptable,” Trump posted that the first US-born Pope was “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” Trump has refused to apologise.

Trump also posted a highly controversial AI-generated image of himself as Jesus – an image he took down amid strong backlash.

US Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, also couldn’t help from adding his two cents, suggesting the Pope should be “careful when he talks about matters of theology”.

Pope Leo XIV said it was “not in my interest at all” to debate Trump about the Iran war.

Aldeas, The Final Dream of Pope Francis is directed by Clare Tavernor and Johnny Shipley and produced by Aldeas Scholas Films in association with Sikelia Productions and Massive Owl Productions. LBI Entertainment and Double Agent are handling sales of the film, with all proceeds to be reinvested in the Aldeas initiative.