Mentorn Media has produced a fast-turnaround documentary on Pope Francis for National Geographic Channels International (NGCI). Taking a close-up look at the new Pope and his challenges ahead, Pope Francis: Road to the Vatican will begin premiering in the UK on Good Friday, 29th March at 8pm and over Easter weekend on National Geographic Channel in 170 countries.
NGCI asked Mentorn to reversion an existing documentary, Vatican: Life Within; however, with the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina on March 13, it turned into a much more ambitious project. The initial programme, Vatican: Life Within, gained rare access, interviewing staff and revealing how they manage daily life for the Pope. The new 1 x 60 special was commissioned by Hamish Mykura, Executive Vice President and Head of International Content for NGCI after Pope Benedict resigned.
"National Geographic Channel has experienced lots of success in developing strong, fast-turnaround specials that examine gripping current events, and are produced in the moment. From our most recent special World's Biggest Festival: Kumbh Mela to Superstorm New York and now Pope Francis: Road to the Vatican, we can present shows which feel up to the minute. It's superb to have a documentary on the new Pope ready to run worldwide over the Easter weekend," said Mykura.
After the ratings-busting fast turnaround for BBC Three on Oscar Pistorius, Mentorn Media was asked by NGCI to supply fresh material to update and reversion the existing documentary, which was made around Pope Benedict, who announced his retirement in February.
The new programme, Pope Francis: Road To The Vatican showcases to a global audience the Pope who declared that the Church had gone "to the end of the world" to find him. Pope Francis is the first Latin American Pope. The son of a railway worker in Argentina, Pope Francis says he wants a "poor church… for the poor".
Steve Anderson, Executive Producer for Mentorn said: "The election of Pope Francis was unexpected and made it a far bigger story.
"We sent a team to Buenos Aries to film interviews with people who have worked with Bergoglio over many years. We were also in the main square of Buenos Aries, the Plaza del Mayo, to film thousands of people watch the Pope's inauguration in the Vatican, being beamed live to big screens that had been erected specially for the occasion.
"It was a massive event for Argentina. The new film is now able to reflect that, along with the reasons why Pope Francis has a reputation for being a 'Pope of the Poor'.
"Filming finished on the Tuesday and producer/director Paul Russell flew back to London with the material. We edited through the night Thursday and Friday to deliver the programme to Washington DC on Saturday."
The producer is Charlotte Fisher, the picture editor is Stephen Prince and the Production Executive is Emily Freshwater. Editing took place at Clear Cut, Hammersmith.
Carolyn Payne is Executive Producer for NGCI.
Pope Francis: Road To The Vatican will air on Friday 29th March at 8pm in the UK.
For more information please contact Plank PR on 020 8995 3936 or lou@plankpr.com or sally@plankpr.com