Pope Ratzinger superstar! Benedict XVI will soon be appearing on the big screen: Odeon Film in Munich has announced an agreement between the producers of H & V Entertainment and Peter Weckert, for “an international production on the extraordinary life and works of Joseph Ratzinger, from his birth in 1927 to his Pontificate,” a statement reads.
In 2011 Weckert produced a documentary entitled “Francis and the Pope”, about a young choirboy who was chosen to perform a solo piece before the Holy Father.
The team followed Benedict XVI on his trips to Africa and Israel to gather material for the production.
The film on Benedict XVI will be based on Ratzinger’s biography which will be published by Peter Seewald in spring 2014.
Seewald - who is the author of “Light of the World”, a book-length interview with Benedict XVI, published in 2010 - will advise on the film script and screenplay.
Italian online magazine Tempi.it recalls that the late John Paul II starred in the television production Pope John Paul II, interpreted by Jon Voight, a two part television mini-series entitled Karol: A man who became Pope and Karol: The Pope, the Man directed by Giacomo Battiato.