The beloved Pope Francis gets his own biopic entitled “Call Me Francesco." The film is directed by Daniele Luchetti.
According to Euro News, the director is not a Catholic but felt a strong connection with the Argentinian pope. “Through the hell that this man had to go through, we understand how he matures, how he grows and how he has this incredible opportunity at the end of his life to reach the highest point and to do what he basically wished for as a child, that is to help others and live his calling to the highest point,” said the director. He wanted to make the film relatable to a different audience.
Euro News also mentioned that the actor who played the younger pope is a young Argentinian actor named Rodrigo de la Serna, who is best known for starring in ‘The Motorcycle Diaries,’ while Chilean actor Sergio Hernandez plays the older pope.
“You ask me what it means for an Argentinian actor to play these difficult years in my country’s history, and to portray the vision of a particular character. The Church and its actions have always been put into question and for an Argentinian to play a man of the Church is difficult because a lot has happened on our continent," says de la Serna in an interview.
Hernandez was also interviewed for the biopic, and he said, “What Daniele (Luchetti) told me was ‘I don’t care much whether you look like the character, what I care about is how you feel. From then on, I worked every day on researching Bergoglio’s character.”
The movie tells the story of Pope Francis, whose original name is Jorge Bergoglio, following his childhood and until his election in the highest post in the Roman Catholic Church. It premiered last Dec. 1 in the Vatican.