''Chiamatemi Francesco'' (''Call Me Francis'') is a 2015 Italian

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

about

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

directed by

Daniele Luchetti Daniele Luchetti () is an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Luchetti was born in Rome. He debuted as assistant director for Nanni Moretti in ''Bianca (1984 film), Bianca'' (1983) and ''The Mass Is Ended'' (1985). L ...

Plot

The film tells the story of the life of

(formerly Jorge Mario Bergoglio), from his youth in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and his experiences under the dictatorship of

Jorge Rafael Videla Jorge Rafael Videla ( ; ; 2 August 1925 – 17 May 2013) was an Argentine military officer and the ''de facto'' President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981, during the National Reorganization Process. His rule, which was during the time of Operati ...

to his appointment as pope in 2013.

Cast

Rodrigo de la Serna Lionel Rodrigo de la Serna (; born 18 April 1976) is an Argentine actor. He is known for playing Alberto Granado in the 2004 biopic '' The Motorcycle Diaries'' and Palermo in the Netflix series '' Money Heist''. Career De la Serna started his ...

as young Jorge Mario Bergoglio * Sergio Hernández as older Jorge Mario Bergoglio *

Mercedes Morán Mercedes Beatriz Morán (; born 1955) is an Argentine actress, known for her role in the television miniseries '' Culpables''. Early life and career Morán was born in Concarán, San Luis Province in 1955. Her mother was an "ultra-Catholic" r ...

Esther Ballestrino Esther Ballestrino de Careaga (20 January 1918 – disappeared 17 or 18 December 1977) was a Paraguayan biochemist and political activist. She is most notable for her connection to the future Pope Francis and her forced disappearance (abduction a ...

Muriel Santa Ana Muriel Santa Ana (born July 13, 1968) is an Argentine actress. She works in the TV series ''Solamente Vos''. Biography Santa Ana is the daughter of actor Walter Santa Ana and Mabel González; she also has a sister named Moira who is a singer a ...

Alicia Oliveira Alicia Beatriz Oliveira (24 November 1942 – 5 November 2014) was an Argentine jurist and politician known for her work in defense of human rights. She became friends with Father Jorge Bergoglio, later Pope Francis, who baptized her three childr ...

Àlex Brendemühl Àlex Brendemühl i Gubern (born 27 November 1972) is a Spanish-German actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films and television shows since 1995. Life and career Àlex Brendemühl was born in Barcelona on 27 November 1972 to a Spanish mot ...

as Franz Jalics *

Maximilian Dirr Maximilian or Maximillian (Maximiliaan in Dutch and Maximilien in French) is a male name. The name "Max" is considered a shortening of "Maximilian" as well as of several other names. List of people Monarchs *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1 ...

as Giovane Prete *

Andrés Gil Andrés Gil (born 27 January 1990 in San Isidro, Buenos Aires, San Isidro) is an Argentine actor, model (person), model, dancer and media personality. Biography In January 2012 Gil took part - with Bobo Vieri, Alex Belli, Anna Tatangelo, Ria Ant ...

as Father Pedro *

Marco Di Tieri Marco may refer to: People Given name * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor Surname * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Jindřich Marco (1921–2000), Czechoslovak photographer and numismat ...

as Quique

Production

Upon seeing Pope Francis's first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter's Square, director

began contemplating a film about Pope Francis's life. The film's script was written by Daniele Luchetti and

Martín Salinas Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Mart� ...

. Luchetti has said that he aimed to avoid hagiography in the film, though it presents a generally positive portrayal of the pope. The pope did not provide guidance to the film's production team, despite their attempts to contact him. Monsignor Guillermo Karcher, a close associate of the pope, later stated that the movie was "truthful". Luchetti joined with producer

Pietro Valsecchi Pietro Valsecchi (born 14 June 1953 in Crema, Italy) is an Italian film and television producer. In 1991, he and Camilla Nesbitt founded the Italian production company Taodue. In 1995, he won the David di Donatello for Best Producer for his fil ...

and

Taodue Taodue (stylized as taoduefilm) is an Italian film and television production company in MFE - MediaForEurope. It was founded by Pietro Valsecchi and Camilla Nesbitt in 1991. Filmography Films * ''The Conviction, La condanna'' (1991) * ''Acl ...

to produce the movie, which was financed by

Mediaset Mediaset S.p.A. is an Italian mass media and television production and distribution company that is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE – MediaForEurope (the original ...

. The film was shot in Italy, Germany, and Argentina over 15 weeks. The film was shot in Spanish with an Argentine, Chilean, and Spanish cast, along with approximately 3,000 extras. The film cost 13 million euros, or approximately 14 million dollars, to produce. The film's soundtrack was composed by Arturo Cardelús. Writer Evangelina Himitian has claimed that the film is an illegal adaptation of her book ''Francis, the People's Pope'' (''Francisco, el Papa de la gente''). In March 2014, producer Pietro Valsecchi acquired an option to adapt the biography for the film; he ultimately did not exercise this option. According to Himitian, the film is nonetheless based on her research and her meetings with the film's production team. Valsecchi has denied Himitian's allegations, saying that the film is based on multiple sources and not simply her biography, and that the 40,000 euro option would have been a trivial component of the film's budget had the film in fact been based on her book. At the time Himitian made her initial allegations, she had not yet seen the film.

Release

The film premiered on 1 December 2015 in the

Paul VI Audience Hall The Paul VI Audience Hall (), also known as the Hall of the Pontifical Audiences, is an audience hall in which the Pope has held various audiences and conferences. It is located behind the Palace of the Holy Office, east of the Domus Sanctae M ...

, which lies across the border of

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The Office of Papal Charities determined the guest list, and all of the 7,000 tickets were distributed to the poor—including refugees and homeless people—and volunteers who serve them. Bagged dinners were given to attendees after the showing. On 3 December, the film opened in 700 theaters across Italy.

Pier Silvio Berlusconi Pier Silvio Berlusconi (born 28 April 1969) is an Italian media businessman. He is the son of the former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and his first wife Carla Lucia Elvira Dall'Oglio. As a shareholder of Fininvest, the Berlusconi fa ...

Maria Elena Boschi Maria Elena Boschi, (; born 24 January 1981) is an Italian lawyer and politician, member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2013. As a member of the Democratic Party, Boschi has served as Minister for Constitutional Reforms and Relations with t ...

Gianni Letta Giovanni "Gianni" Letta (born 15 April 1935) is an Italian journalist and politician. He was a close advisor of Silvio Berlusconi and is a member of the advisory board of Goldman Sachs International. Biography After graduating in law, he star ...

, and other Italian personalities attended the film's official presentation at Rome's The Space theater.

Medusa Film Medusa Film S.p.A. is an Italian film production and distribution company owned by Mediaset. It is one of the top film producers and distributors in the country. History Medusa Distribuzione S.p.A. was founded by Felice Colaiacono and Franco Po ...

managed the film's distribution in Italy; Taodue is managing its distribution elsewhere. The film is expected to be distributed in 40 countries.

Reception

During its opening weekend (3–6 December 2015), the film ranked second at the Italian box office (following '' In the Heart of the Sea'') with 1.3 million euros in box office receipts. The same weekend, more spectators attended ''Chiamatemi Francesco'' (239,029) than ''In the Heart of the Sea'', but ''In the Heart of the Sea'' benefited from premium prices for 3D tickets. As of 27 December 2015, the film had grossed over 3.5 million euros in Italy. The film received generally positive reviews. ''Chiamatemi Francesco'' was named Italian Film of the Year at the Capri Hollywood Film Festival.

Miniseries

The film was released in 2017 in the form of a four-part television miniseries, each lasting about 50 minutes.

References

External links

Official site
*
Beethoven FM radio program featuring the film's soundtrack
{{Pope Francis 2015 films Italian biographical drama films 2015 biographical drama films Dirty War films Works about Pope Francis Films directed by Daniele Luchetti Films about popes Films shot in Buenos Aires Films set in Buenos Aires 2015 drama films 2010s Italian-language films