Celebrated German director Wim Wenders released his special documentary about Pope Francis during this year's Cannes Film Festival and it reflects the director's love for a man he respects.
Wenders, who has won the Palme d'Or for his 1984 film "Paris, Texas", has made several documentaries of the things he has great affection for such as Cuban music and dance choreographer Pina Bausch.
In an interview with Reuters during the premier of "Pope Francis - A Man Of His Word", Wenders said "I didn't want to make a critical film about him, other people do that really well, television does it all the time."
He adds: "My documentaries are expressions of love and affection for something that I want to share with the world... Right now I think there is nobody who has more important things to say to us that the pope, so I wanted to share that."
"We are living in an utterly immoral time and our political leaders, powerful leaders, are emotional dwarfs. So I wanted to have this emotional giant talk to us."
Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, became pope in 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI resigned from the post. His name came from Francis of Assisi, a figure Wenders calls "a revolutionary" for the work he has done for the poor and nature.
"Today, Saint Francis would be the first ecologist of the world. Pope Francis took on a heavy duty prog by choosing that name."
Wenders filmed four two-hour interviews with the Pope, where the pope talked directly into the camera. He said a kind of "telepromter in reverse" enabled him to get this closeup shot of the pope, by imposing his face on a transparent screen with a camera behind it "so by looking into my eyes, he sees everybody's eyes."
"This man communicates in such an honest direct and spontaneous way... even with the greatest actors you find that very rarely."
The film did not have prerequisites from the Vatican and Wenders insists it is not a propaganda video or a commission. He remarked, "It is not propaganda. It's not a commission. I was free to do what I wanted to do and this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to give a platform for his work, period."
The 71st Cannes Film Festival ends on May 19.
