Pope Leo XIV has told a group of leading Hollywood actors and filmmakers that more should be done to protect struggling neighbourhood cinemas in order to preserve the shared experience of watching movies.
According to ABC News, screen stars Cate Blanchett, Monica Bellucci, Chris Pine and Oscar-winning director Spike Lee were among the celebrities to greet the pope at an audience in the Vatican on Saturday.
Leo, the first pope to have been born in the United States, told the group the cinema industry was a vital "workshop of hope" at a time of global uncertainty and digital overload.
Leo says cinemas are experiencing a troubling decline, with many being removed from cities and neighbourhoods.
He is urging institutions not to give up, but to cooperate in affriming the social and cultural experience value of this activity.
Box office revenues in many countries remain well below the levels recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic, with multiplexes in the United States and Canada just suffering their worst summer since 1981, excluding the COVID shutdown.
[Source: abc news]
