DISCOVERY+, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ABRAMORAMA, TO RELEASE POPE FRANCIS DOCUMENTARY FRANCESCO FOR A NATIONWIDE VIRTUAL CINEMA ROLLOUT AHEAD OF HOLY WEEK ON MARCH 26TH.
DOC WILL STREAM GLOBALLY ON DISCOVERY+ MARCH 28.
New York, NY – March 8, 2021 – discovery+, the definitive non-fiction, real-life subscription streaming service, and Abramorama announced today a national virtual cinema release of the theatrical version of FRANCESCO, the headline-making Pope Francis documentary. From Oscar® nominated director and producer, Evgeny Afineevksy, FRANCESCOfeatures unprecedented access to His Holiness Pope Francis, providing an intimate look at a global leader who approaches challenging and complex issues with tremendous humility, wisdom and generosity towards all. In addition to watching FRANCESCO virtually in theaters or on discovery+, viewers can join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #Francesco and following Discovery on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
“Evgeny’s unparalleled access to Pope Francis provides viewers with an intimate documentary for all of us, at a time when we need new leadership to inspire us to build a better future.” says Lisa Holme, Group SVP, Content & Commercial Strategy, Discovery. “Holy Week is the perfect opportunity to bring this moving documentary to discovery+ audiences in multiple ways.”
Spanning issues such as climate change, migration and refugees, women’s empowerment, sexual abuse and LGBTQ+ issues, pandemic, border walls, and many more of today’s headlines, this documentary takes audiences on a worldwide journey to spotlight the incredible empathy displayed by a leader who continues to inspire hope during an extraordinary moment in our lifetime. In doing so, the film examines how people might take action to transition into a new way of living and thriving in the 21st century.
In addition to unprecedented access to Pope Francis, the film features interviews with those who have been part of his journey, including his nephew Jose Ignacio Bergoglio, His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, as well as Juan Carlos Cruz, a victim and activist for survivors of sexual abuse, and Sister Norma Pimentel, an advocate for refugees. FRANCESCO paints a portrait of a man who has dedicated his life to bringing together people to thrive as a global community.
Abramorama principals Richard Abramowitz (CEO) and Karol Martesko-Fenster (COO) added, “We are honored to be partnering with discovery+ to release Evgeny’s moving documentary, during Holy Week, a time when many people are focused on spiritual influence and reflection. FRANCESCO is a generous and hopeful documentary for, and about, all of us and should be shared widely for these times and for generations to come.”
Quote from Evgeny Afineevsky, “I’m thankful to Pope Francis and the Vatican for their trust in me to tell this story highlighting his work while tackling the most pressing challenges at this moment in time. The Holy Father is a trailblazer who has taken on some of the most pressing issues of our time – women’s rights, immigration, LGBTQ+ issues and much more and has demonstrated how effective am empathetic leader can be. His actions are examples of how people can take action to transition into a new way of living and thriving in the 21st Century. It’s tremendously exciting to bring this work to theaters and into people’s living rooms this month.”
Award winning filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky built his career on demonstrating a commitment to documenting important stories of change and social justice. His documentary CRIES FROM SYRIA (2017), about the brutal five-year civil war in Syria, was nominated for four Emmy Awards, earned a nomination for Best Documentary from the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, and Afineevsky won International Documentary Association’s Courage Under Fire Award, and a Humanities Prize and Cinema for Peace Awards as Most Valuable Documentary of the Year.
His documentary WINTER ON FIRE: UKRAINE’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM (2016), details the 2013 student uprising that transformed into a violent revolution, also looked at the shady negotiations between Ukraine’s corrupt former president, Viktor Yanukovich, and Russian president Vladimir Putin that kept Ukraine from joining the European Union. The film won a People’s Choice Award for the Best Documentary from the Toronto International Film Festival, received the Television Academy Honors Award, and earned an Oscar and Emmy nomination.
FRANCESCO is a discovery + original; directed and produced by Evgeny Afineevsky, producers Den Tolmor, Eric Esrailian, Teri Schwartz; executive producers Ted Hope, Colleen Camp, Mark Monroe, Tomáš Srovnal, Michelle Bertrán Neve, Svetlana Chistyakova, Bonnie Abaunza, Bohdan Batruch, Regina K. Scully, Elba Luis Lugo, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Robert Fyvolent. The film is produced by, Afineevsky-Tolmor Production with UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), PFX – Postproduction and Visual Effects Studio and in association with Diamond Docs.
