Pope Leo XIV Meets Cate Blanchett and Spike Lee
According to the CinemaDrame News Agency, Pope Leo XIV warned several Hollywood figures at the Vatican this Saturday about the “decline” of movie theaters and called for preserving the shared experience of watching films. At the event, the pontiff met stars including Cate Blanchett, Chris Pine, Monica Bellucci, and Oscar-winning director Spike Lee.
The first American pope described cinema in these unstable years and amid the rise of digital content as a “workshop of hope,” and spoke about the current state of the film industry: “Movie theaters are undergoing a severe decline, and many have been removed from cities and neighborhoods.”
He continued: “Few people deny that the art of cinema and the cinematic experience are at risk. I urge institutions not to give in, but instead to reaffirm the social and cultural value of this activity.”
Box-office revenue has dropped significantly, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, and several films have failed commercially this year. North American cinemas recently recorded the lowest Halloween weekend sales and the weakest October box office numbers in history.
Pope Leo said that at 130 years old, cinema remains a light in the darkness and raises humanity’s deepest questions: “Cinema is not just moving images; it moves hope.” He added that entering a movie theater is like “the soul leaving the body,” and in that space even suffering and pain take on new meaning.
He went on to say that a culture built on constant digital replication reduces stories to what algorithms can predict: “The logic of algorithms leans toward repeating proven success, but art opens paths toward what is possible.”
The pope urged filmmakers to defend “slowness, silence, and difference” in storytelling and to confront themes of honesty when dealing with violence, war, poverty, and loneliness: “Cinema does not exploit suffering; it recognizes it and investigates it.”
After the speech, a group of guests met him one by one, many presenting gifts to the pope. Spike Lee, director of Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X, gifted him a New York Knicks basketball jersey.
Prior to the gathering, the Vatican announced the pope’s four favorite films: The Sound of Music, It’s a Wonderful Life, Ordinary People, and Life Is Beautiful.
Robert De Niro had met with Pope Leo XIV the previous week.
