The Young Pope (Il giovane Papa)

From Paolo Sorrentino, director of the Academy Award®-winning film THE GREAT BEAUTY, we bring you the first two episodes of THE YOUNG POPE, the director’s sumptuous, epic HBO series about a fictional American-born Pope. We are screening the first two episodes from last year’s series because of Paolo Sorrentino’s relationship with this festival and because they look beautiful on a large screen. THE YOUNG POPE tells the controversial story of the beginning of Pope Pius XIII's pontificate. Born Lenny Belardo (a magnetic Jude Law), he is a complex and conflicted character—conservative in his choices and Machiavellian in his modus operandi, yet full of compassion towards the weak and poor. Pius XIII is a man of limitless power who stubbornly resists his Vatican courtiers, including the perplexed, traditional Cardinal Voiello (Silvio Orlando) and is loyal to no one, not even his mentor Sister Mary, a nun (played to perfection by Diane Keaton). Sorrentino says the series is about “The clear signs of God's existence. The clear signs of God's absence.” So if you are a fan of Jude Law, or you don’t have HBO yet, or you’ve been living under a rock for the last year, join us as we celebrate Sorrentino’s brilliant drama about life inside the Vatican. THE YOUNG POPE is a co-production of HBO and Sky. -Nancy Fishman