Pope Leo XIV to movie makers: Film can portray \u2018longing for the infinite\u2019 Pope Leo XIV told representatives of the global film industry on Saturday that cinema is far more than entertainment, calling it a vehicle capable of expressing humanity\u2019s deepest spiritual search and its longing for the infinite. The pope received a group of filmmakers, actors, and producers at the Apostolic Palace Nov. 15. Among those greeting him were Academy Award\u2013winning Australian actress Cate Blanchett, American actor Chris Pine, Italian actresses Monica Bellucci and Maria Grazia Cucinotta, and Oscar-winning director Spike Lee. Ahead of the audience, the Vatican released a list of some of the pope\u2019s favorite films, including \u201cThe Sound of Music\u201d and \u201cLife is Beautiful.\u201d Addressing the artists, the pope said cinema is \u201cstill a young, dreamlike and somewhat restless art form,\u201d and that although it began as a \u201cplay of light and shadow, designed to amuse and impress,\u201d it soon began to convey \u201cmuch deeper realities,\u201d eventually becoming \u201can expression of the desire to contemplate and understand life, to recount its greatness and fragility and to portray the longing for infinity.\u201d He told them: \u201cIt is wonderful to see that when the magic light of cinema illuminates the darkness, it simultaneously ignites the eyes of the soul. Indeed, cinema combines what appears to be mere entertainment with the narrative of the human person\u2019s spiritual adventure.\u201d One of cinema\u2019s most valuable contributions, he said, is \u201chelping audiences consider their own lives, look at the complexity of their experiences with new eyes and examine the world as if for the first time,\u201d thus rediscovering \u201ca portion of the hope that is essential for humanity to live to the fullest.\u201d He added, \u201cI find comfort in the thought that cinema is not just moving pictures; it sets hope in motion!\u201d The cinema as the heart of community life \u201cEntering a cinema is like crossing a threshold,\u201d the pope said. \u201cIn the darkness and silence, vision becomes sharper, the heart opens up and the mind becomes receptive to things not yet imagined.\u201d Through their work, filmmakers \u201cconnect with people who are looking for entertainment, as well as those who carry within their hearts a sense of restlessness and are looking for meaning, justice and beauty. \u201cWe live in an age where digital screens are always on,\u201d he continued. \u201cThere is a constant flow of information. However, cinema is much more than just a screen; it is an intersection of desires, memories and questions. It is a sensory journey in which light pierces the darkness and words meet silence. As the plot unfolds, our mind is educated, our imagination broadens and even pain can find new meaning.\u201d He stressed that cultural institutions such as cinemas and theaters are \u201cthe beating hearts of our communities because they contribute to making them more human,\u201d adding: \u201cIf a city is alive, it is thanks in part to its cultural spaces. We must inhabit these spaces and build relationships within them, day after day.\u201d Nonetheless, he warned that \u201ccinemas are experiencing a troubling decline, with many being removed from cities and neighborhoods,\u201d and noted that \u201cmore than a few people are saying that the art of cinema and the cinematic experience are in danger.\u201d He urged institutions \u201cnot to give up, but to cooperate in affirming the social and cultural value of this activity.\u201d Resisting the \u2018algorithmic logic\u2019 of the digital age \u201cThe logic of algorithms tends to repeat what \u2018works,\u2019 but art opens up what is possible,\u201d he said. \u201cNot everything has to be immediate or predictable. Defend slowness when it serves a purpose, silence when it speaks and difference when evocative. Beauty is not just a means of escape; it is above all an invocation.\u201d \u201cWhen cinema is authentic, it does not merely console, but challenges,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt articulates the questions that dwell within us, and sometimes, even provokes tears that we did not know we needed to express.\u201d In the Jubilee Year, he told them, the Church invites everyone \u201cto journey towards hope,\u201d saying their presence was \u201ca shining example\u201d of that. He described filmmakers as \u201cpilgrims of the imagination, seekers of meaning, narrators of hope and heralds of humanity,\u201d whose journey is measured not in distance but in \u201cimages, words, emotions, shared memories and collective desires.\u201d The Church, he said, \u201cesteems you for your work with light and time, with faces and landscapes, with words and silence.\u201d Quoting Paul VI\u2019s words to artists \u2014 \u201cIf you are friends of genuine art, you are our friends\u2026 this world in which we live needs beauty in order not to sink into despair\u201d \u2014 he said he wished \u201cto renew this friendship because cinema is a workshop of hope, a place where people can once again find themselves and their purpose.\u201d He encouraged them to remember the words of film pioneer David W. Griffith: \u201cWhat the modern movie lacks is beauty, the beauty of the moving wind in the trees,\u201d linking it to the Gospel image of the wind as a sign of the Spirit. \u201cI invite you to make cinema an art of the Spirit,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the present era, there is a need for witnesses of hope, beauty and truth,\u201d he continued. \u201cYou can fulfill this role through your artistic work. Good cinema and those who create and star in it have the power to recover the authenticity of imagery in order to safeguard and promote human dignity. Do not be afraid to confront the world\u2019s wounds.\u201d Good cinema, he stressed, \u201cdoes not exploit pain; it recognizes and explores it.\u201d Giving voice to the complex and sometimes dark feelings of the human heart \u201cis an act of love,\u201d he said, and authentic art \u201cmust engage with\u201d human frailty. Filmmaking, he reminded them, \u201cis a communal effort, a collective endeavor in which no one is self-sufficient,\u201d involving the contributions of countless professionals. \u201cEvery voice, every gesture and every skill contributes to a work that can only exist as a whole.\u201d \u201cIn an age of exaggerated and confrontational personalities,\u201d he said, they show that film requires \u201cdedication and talent,\u201d and that everyone\u2019s gifts can \u201cshine in a collaborative and fraternal atmosphere.\u201d He prayed that cinema would \u201calways be a meeting place and a home for those seeking meaning and a language of peace,\u201d and that it would \u201cnever lose its capacity to amaze and even continue to offer us a glimpse, however small, of the mystery of God.\u201d \u201cMay the Lord bless you, your work and your loved ones,\u201d he concluded. \u201cAnd may he always accompany you on your creative journey and help you to be artisans of hope.\u201d This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA\u2019s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA. Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today EWTN Vatican on WhatsApp Andr\u00e9s Henr\u00edquez Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter. More news related to this article India\u2019s Syro-Malabar Church Reshuffles Leadership Amid Liturgical Row Pope Francis Calls On Vatican Christmas Concert Artists To Promote Peace, Reconciliation The City of Rome Celebrates the Ancient Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul Pope Francis: An ethical AI respects human dignity Pope Francis names several Americans to Dicastery for Evangelization Nuncio In Ukraine: \u2018In Such A Horrible War, There\u2019s Nothing Left But Hope\u2019<\/p>\n