Martin Scorsese and Pope Francis teamed to produce a documentary called 'Aldeas — A New Story'
'Aldeas — A New Story' will feature conversations between Pope Francis and Scorsese, including what the filmmakers say are the Pope's final in-depth on-camera interview for a film. The documentary will detail the work of Scholas Occurrentes, a non-profit, international organization founded by the pope in 2013 to promote the 'Culture of Encounter' among youth.
Part of that organization's work has included filmmaking under the Aldeas initiative. The documentary will show young people in Indonesia, Italy and the Gambia participating in Aldeas and making short films.
Aldeas Scholas Film and Scorsese's Sikelia Productions, which announced the documentary Wednesday, said the film is 'a testament to the enduring belief that creativity is not only a means of expression but a path to hope and transformation.'
Before his death, Pope Francis called Aldeas 'an extremely poetic and very constructive project because it goes to the roots of what human life is, human sociability, human conflicts ... the essence of a life's journey.'
No release date was announced for the film.
'Now, more than ever, we need to talk to each other, listen to one another cross-culturally,' Scorsese said in a statement. 'One of the best ways to accomplish this is by sharing the stories of who we are, reflected from our personal lives and experiences. It helps us understand and value how each of us sees the world. It was important to Pope Francis for people across the globe to exchange ideas with respect while also preserving their cultural identity, and cinema is the best medium to do that.'
Scorsese met numerous times with Pope Francis over the years, and their conversations sometimes informed work undertaken by the 82-year-old filmmaker of 'The Last Temptation of Christ' and 'Silence.' After meeting with Pope Francis in 2023, Scorsese announced that he would made another film centered on Jesus, though that project — an adaptation of Shūsaku Endō's 'A Life of Jesus' — hasn't yet gone into production. Last fall, Scorsese produced an eight-part docudrama series for Fox Nation called 'Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business News Wales
4 days ago
- Business News Wales
Royal Mint Releases Commemorative Coin to Celebrate 200 Years of British Railways
The Royal Mint has released a new commemorative coin celebrating the 200th anniversary of Britain's modern railway, with train enthusiast and social media personality Francis Bourgeois striking the first coin. Francis, whose genuine passion for trains has captivated millions across social media, was a natural choice for the striking, The Royal Mint said. The collectible £2 coin features the iconic Locomotion No. 1 which first steamed along the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. Previously included in The Royal Mint's 2025 annual coin sets, this special edition has now been released as a standalone collectible. The detailed design depicts Locomotion No. 1 on the historic opening day of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, capturing a moment that transformed British transportation. Each coin features the edge inscription 'ACTIVE · LOCOMOTION NO 1' as a tribute to the revolutionary locomotive, offering collectors a tangible piece of British industrial heritage. Francis shared the striking ceremony with his millions of followers on TikTok, introducing many young enthusiasts to the hobby of coin collecting while celebrating his own passion for railways. Rebecca Morgan, Director of Commemorative Coin at The Royal Mint, said: 'Coin collecting, much like Francis's dedication to trains, brings together people who share a passion for history and heritage. Both hobbies offer a fascinating window into our nation's past and provide communities where enthusiasts can share knowledge and excitement. We've seen tremendous interest from collectors of all ages who appreciate how coins can commemorate significant moments like the birth of modern railways, making this standalone release a celebration not just of railway history, but of the joy of collecting itself.' Emma Roberts, programme manager for Railway 200, said: 'Having a commemorative coin from The Royal Mint is a huge honour. We're delighted that the vital role of the railway on our lives is being recognised in this way. The opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway two centuries ago accelerated a rail revolution around the world. That historic moment helped to shape the past, present and future of rail and deserves to be commemorated in this bicentenary year.' The commemorative coin is available in a range of finishes including gold and silver editions, alongside a standard brilliant uncirculated version, with prices starting from £17.50. There are no plans for the coin to enter general circulation.
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- The Guardian
‘Queer people were living, loving, suffering, surviving – but invisible': west Africa's groundbreaking gay novel 20 years on
When Jude Dibia first tried to sell the manuscript of his groundbreaking novel Walking With Shadows 20 years ago, he was aware of the silence around queerness in West African literature. While there had been books with gay themes, his is widely recognised as the first novel in the region to put a gay character at the heart of the story. 'The absence wasn't just literary; it was societal,' Dibia says. 'Queer people were living, loving, suffering, surviving – but largely rendered invisible or spoken of in hushed tones, if at all. That silence felt violent. It felt like erasure. 'Literature has the power to name what society refuses to see. Walking With Shadows was my small attempt to do that,' he adds. Initially, some publishers refused to touch the novel, considering it too controversial. Others suggested he rewrite the ending, either making the character renounce his homosexuality or killing him. When the book was finally published, Dibia was called names. He lost friends and was blacklisted from certain literary spaces. He was invited to events, only to later be uninvited once the organisers realised who he was and what he had written. Dibia's novel is widely recognised as the first Nigerian book to depict queerness with depth and empathy. It tells the story of Ebele 'Adrian' Njoku who has buried his sexuality in the past, become a husband and a father, but who has to confront who he really is when a co-worker informs his wife that he is gay. Ainehi Edoro, associate professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and founder of the literary blog Brittle Paper, says the novel marked a turning point. 'For a long time, queer characters in African literature were either invisible or treated as symbols of crisis, like their presence was a sign that something had gone wrong,' she says. 'So when Dibia wrote a novel that centred a gay Nigerian man as a full human being, that mattered. He pushed back against an entire archive of erasure.' The book, which turned 20 this year, was published by Blacksands in 2005 and republished in 2011 by Jalaa Writers' Collective. In 2019, it was adapted for the screen by Oya Media and a special film edition was released. But the initial backlash Walking with Shadows faced has not entirely disappeared, says Dibia. 'Some still view the book as too controversial, too political, too queer. But I've made peace with that. If a story makes people uncomfortable because it tells the truth, then perhaps discomfort is the first step toward awareness.' Dibia was forced to leave Nigeria and now lives in Sweden after the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, a law that criminalises homosexuality, was passed in January 2014, fearing he might become a target for his writing. Since the publication of Walking With Shadows, an increasing number of books with queer characters at the heart of them have been published in West Africa and, specifically, Nigeria. There have been a slew of firsts: Chinelo Okparanta's Under the Udala Trees (2015) was the first novel to focus on lesbianism; Romeo Oriogun's Burnt Men (2016) was the first queer poetry book; Chike Frankie Edozien's Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man (2017), the first gay memoir; Unoma Azuah's Embracing My Shadows: Growing Up Lesbian in Nigeria (2020), the first lesbian memoir. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Dibia, who has published two more novels – Unbridled in 2007 and Blackbird in 2011 – considers the fact that his debut gave visibility to lives that had been systematically ignored as the book's most meaningful contribution. 'That's the legacy I'm proudest of: not the controversy, but the quiet courage it gave others to tell their own stories, in their own ways,' he says. Chike Frankie Edozien, author of Lives of Great Men, agrees. 'Each time I do something that examines the fullness and varying natures of our lives, I know that I'm continuing the work Jude began by adding to a canon that boldly debunks the prevailing narrative that queerness in West Africa is foreign or imported,' he says. 'We've been diverse as long as we've existed and I'm thankful for Jude's brave work that cracked open the door for the rest of us to kick down. All these years later, it [Walking with Shadows] still is for me a guiding light.' For the British-Nigerian gay rights activist Bisi Alimi, the book was liberating the moment he laid hands on it. 'Prior to that day, I had never really read any book as personal and relatable as that. Jude and the book did something to me,' he says. The writer and researcher Ayodele Olofintuade had a similar experience. 'The book came as it is, creating a new genre, queer literature,' she says. 'Encountering the novel about two years post-publication was a shift in reality for me. Walking with Shadows is a roadmap of what is possible.' Dibia's deepest satisfaction comes from readers all over the world who say that Adrian's story helps them feel seen. He sometimes wishes, however, that he had been better prepared for, and protected against, the fallout. 'But then again, maybe part of the novel's power comes from the fact that it was written without armour,' he says. 'I don't regret writing it. I only regret the climate that made it feel dangerous to tell the truth.' Today, Dibia still hopes people see the book as an act of courage and, more importantly, an act of care. Likewise, 20 years from now, he hopes the novel will still feel relevant yet like a historical document of a time outgrown. '[I hope it] becomes a reminder of what silence cost us, and how far we've come,' he says.
The Guardian
21-07-2025
- The Guardian
‘Queer people were living, loving, suffering, surviving – but invisible': west Africa's groundbreaking gay novel 20 years on
When Jude Dibia first tried to sell the manuscript of his groundbreaking novel Walking With Shadows 20 years ago, he was aware of the silence around queerness in West African literature. While there had been books with gay themes, his is widely recognised as the first novel in the region to put a gay character at the heart of the story. 'The absence wasn't just literary; it was societal,' Dibia says. 'Queer people were living, loving, suffering, surviving – but largely rendered invisible or spoken of in hushed tones, if at all. That silence felt violent. It felt like erasure. 'Literature has the power to name what society refuses to see. Walking With Shadows was my small attempt to do that,' he adds. Initially, some publishers refused to touch the novel, considering it too controversial. Others suggested he rewrite the ending, either making the character renounce his homosexuality or killing him. When the book was finally published, Dibia was called names. He lost friends and was blacklisted from certain literary spaces. He was invited to events, only to later be uninvited once the organisers realised who he was and what he had written. Dibia's novel is widely recognised as the first Nigerian book to depict queerness with depth and empathy. It tells the story of Ebele 'Adrian' Njoku who has buried his sexuality in the past, become a husband and a father, but who has to confront who he really is when a co-worker informs his wife that he is gay. Ainehi Edoro, associate professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and founder of the literary blog Brittle Paper, says the novel marked a turning point. 'For a long time, queer characters in African literature were either invisible or treated as symbols of crisis, like their presence was a sign that something had gone wrong,' she says. 'So when Dibia wrote a novel that centred a gay Nigerian man as a full human being, that mattered. He pushed back against an entire archive of erasure.' The book, which turned 20 this year, was published by Blacksands in 2005 and republished in 2011 by Jalaa Writers' Collective. In 2019, it was adapted for the screen by Oya Media and a special film edition was released. But the initial backlash Walking with Shadows faced has not entirely disappeared, says Dibia. 'Some still view the book as too controversial, too political, too queer. But I've made peace with that. If a story makes people uncomfortable because it tells the truth, then perhaps discomfort is the first step toward awareness.' Dibia was forced to leave Nigeria and now lives in Sweden after the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, a law that criminalises homosexuality, was passed in January 2014, fearing he might become a target for his writing. Since the publication of Walking With Shadows, an increasing number of books with queer characters at the heart of them have been published in West Africa and, specifically, Nigeria. There have been a slew of firsts: Chinelo Okparanta's Under the Udala Trees (2015) was the first novel to focus on lesbianism; Romeo Oriogun's Burnt Men (2016) was the first queer poetry book; Chike Frankie Edozien's Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man (2017), the first gay memoir; Unoma Azuah's Embracing My Shadows: Growing Up Lesbian in Nigeria (2020), the first lesbian memoir. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Dibia, who has published two more novels – Unbridled in 2007 and Blackbird in 2011 – considers the fact that his debut gave visibility to lives that had been systematically ignored as the book's most meaningful contribution. 'That's the legacy I'm proudest of: not the controversy, but the quiet courage it gave others to tell their own stories, in their own ways,' he says. Chike Frankie Edozien, author of Lives of Great Men, agrees. 'Each time I do something that examines the fullness and varying natures of our lives, I know that I'm continuing the work Jude began by adding to a canon that boldly debunks the prevailing narrative that queerness in West Africa is foreign or imported,' he says. 'We've been diverse as long as we've existed and I'm thankful for Jude's brave work that cracked open the door for the rest of us to kick down. All these years later, it [Walking with Shadows] still is for me a guiding light.' For the British-Nigerian gay rights activist Bisi Alimi, the book was liberating the moment he laid hands on it. 'Prior to that day, I had never really read any book as personal and relatable as that. Jude and the book did something to me,' he says. The writer and researcher Ayodele Olofintuade had a similar experience. 'The book came as it is, creating a new genre, queer literature,' she says. 'Encountering the novel about two years post-publication was a shift in reality for me. Walking with Shadows is a roadmap of what is possible.' Dibia's deepest satisfaction comes from readers all over the world who say that Adrian's story helps them feel seen. He sometimes wishes, however, that he had been better prepared for, and protected against, the fallout. 'But then again, maybe part of the novel's power comes from the fact that it was written without armour,' he says. 'I don't regret writing it. I only regret the climate that made it feel dangerous to tell the truth.' Today, Dibia still hopes people see the book as an act of courage and, more importantly, an act of care. Likewise, 20 years from now, he hopes the novel will still feel relevant yet like a historical document of a time outgrown. '[I hope it] becomes a reminder of what silence cost us, and how far we've come,' he says.
