Written by on Apr 23, 2015. Posted in On Location

Pope Francis biography Call me Francesco wraps Argentina location filming

An upcoming Spanish-language biopic of Pope Francis entitled Call me Francesco has wrapped seven weeks of location filming in Buenos Aires and other parts of Argentina. Shooting is scheduled to continue on location in Rome, Turin and Munich.

“Pope Francis was born in the area of Flores and before being Pope he lived both in Buenos Aires and also in the provinces of Santa Fe and Cordoba,” explains Sergio Teubal of Metropolis Films.

“The locations are real locations where he passed part of his life and for the places that don’t exist anymore, we searched for locations that were similar to those where he used to live and work.

“The movie was shot in Buenos Aires downtown, Buenos Aires Province and a lot of churches. The school in Santa Fe where he used to teach as a young adult was also done in Buenos Aires at The Sagrado Corazon and then the film crew moved to Salta City.”

Given that the film spans the life of Pope Francis through the 40s, 50s and 60s up to the present day, the locations were dressed to reflect the periods. Filming also took place in favela locations, co-ordinating several hundred extras at any one time.

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires succeeded Benedict XVI to become Pope Francis in March 2013, becoming the first Latin American to assume the Papacy. He was ordained as a Jesuit in 1969 and went on to study in Argentina and Germany.

Call me Francesco is based on the book Francisco. El Papa de la gente, written by Evangelina Himitian.