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Pope says cinemas are in danger of disappearing from cities
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Filmmakers urged to confront pain and injustice
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Says digital culture is squeezing out real storytelling
By Crispian Balmer
VATICAN CITY – Pope Leo told a group of prominent Hollywood actors and filmmakers in audience at the Vatican on Saturday that cinemas are struggling to survive and that more must be done to protect them and preserve the shared experience of watching movies.
The gathering included screen stars Cate Blanchett, Monica Bellucci, Chris Pine and Oscar-winning director Spike Lee.
Leo, the first American Pope, said that cinema was an important “workshop of hope” in a time of global uncertainty and digital overload.
“Cinemas are in alarming decline, with many being removed from cities and neighborhoods,” he said.
“More than a few are saying that the art of cinema and the cinematic experience are under threat. I urge institutions not to give up, but to cooperate in reaffirming the social and cultural value of this activity.”
Box office revenues in many countries are well below levels recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic, with multiplexes in the United States and Canada experiencing their worst summer since 1981, excluding COVID shutdowns.
Pope says algorithmic logic must be resisted
Leo said cinema, which celebrates its 130th anniversary this year, has evolved from a play of light and shadow to one capable of illuminating humanity’s deepest questions.
“Cinema is not just moving pictures; it sets hope in motion,” he said, adding that entering the theater is “like crossing a threshold” where the imagination expands and even pain can find new meaning.
A culture shaped by constant digital stimuli risks undermining the stories that algorithms predict will be successful, he said.
“The logic of algorithms repeats what works, but art opens up what’s possible,” he said, urging filmmakers to espouse “slowness, silence and difference” when serving a story.
Pope encouraged artists to confront violence, war, poverty and loneliness honestly and said that good cinema “does not exploit pain; it recognizes it and explores it”.
He praised not only the directors and actors but also those working behind the scenes whose art makes films possible, calling filmmaking “a collective effort in which no one is self-sufficient”.
At the end of his speech, the long list of invitees met the Pope one by one, many giving him gifts, including Spike Lee, who gave him a New York Knicks basketball shirt emblazoned with “Pope Leo 14”.
Ahead of Saturday’s meeting, the Vatican shared four of the pope’s favorite films: Robert Wise’s family musical “The Sound of Music,” Frank Capra’s feel-good “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Robert Redford’s heartbreaking “Ordinary People” and Roberto Benigni’s sentimental World War Two drama “Life Is Beautiful.”
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