Aldeas, the Final Dream of Pope Francis, the globally shot cultural project overseen by Martin Scorsese, will world premiere at the Vatican on April 21 as part of events commemorating the first anniversary of the late Pontiff’s death.

Filmed across Italy, Indonesia, the Gambia, and Vatican City, Aldeas features Pope Francis’ last, never-before-seen on-screen testimony, recorded shortly before his death.

The film revolves around the premise of communities coming together to create and share their own stories through cinema, and includes a segment in which Scorsese returns to his grandfather’s village in Sicily, where he helps local young people make a film of their own.

Aldeas, will be unveiled in an intimate screening at the Vatican organised by Scholas Occurrentes, the global educational movement founded by Pope Francis.

Scorsese met Pope Francis on a number of occasions across his papacy. In 2024, the director gifted the Pope with a photo book for his Oscar-nominated movie Killers of the Flower Moon.

The director and producer also attended the Pontiff’s Global Aesthetics of the Catholic Imagination conference in 2023, gathering hundreds of artists from around the world to discuss the Roman Catholic faith’s relationship with art.

Pope Francis entrusted the overseeing of Aldeas to Scorsese, a work combining their shared visions of art, spirituality, and humanity.

The religious leader 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 reflected: “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 film is produced by Aldeas Scholas Films in association with Sikelia Productions and Massive Owl Productions.

Producers include Scorsese, Teresa Leveratto, Ezequiel del Corral, and Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, with Lisa Frechette, Romilda de Luca, Ariel Tcach, and Ariel Broitman serving as executive producers.

Directors Clare Tavernor and Johnny Shipley, together with producer Amy Foster, lead the creative team. Acclaimed cinematographers Ellen Kuras and Salvatore Totino also contributed to the film.

The project also features collaborations with internationally recognized artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, including actor Babou Ceesay, actress Happy Salma, and Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore, representing Africa, Asia, and Europe, respectively.

Both the film and the broader project are independently financed by international sponsors and donors, ensuring that all proceeds are reinvested in sustaining and expanding the initiative globally. LBI Entertainment and Double Agent are handling sales.