The phenomenon of “Libres” causes admiration in Rome

The legendary FARNESE cinema (where Cinema Paradiso was premiered) became the setting for the unique and exclusive screening of the documentary “LIBRES: A journey into the Interior of Man” by Bosco Films on 10 October.

The screening was attended by more than 120 people, including journalists accredited to the Holy See and other media, as well as members of the clergy, nuns, and other guests who are in Rome for the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

The screening of “LIBRES” was in the original version (Spanish) with English subtitles and was attended by Santos Blanco, director of the film, and Lucía González-Barandiarán, producer, who at the end led a discussion with the audience.

During the colloquium, the director emphasised that “we live in a society where all the time is about having, the physical, the body, and that takes us further away from the spiritual life, that is why, when I met the monks, I realised that they are very suitable people to talk to the world about these issues and people will listen to them, as they go very deeply into it, their life is dedicated to it”.

“LIBRES” is Blanco’s debut feature film, and became a phenomenon in Spain, running for fourteen weeks, with over 87,000 viewers and becoming the sixth most watched Spanish documentary of the last 20 years in Spain.

When asked by one of the journalists about the images of nature that accompany the testimonies, Blanco explained that the film “talks a lot about emotional issues and nature often expresses the emotions of human beings”.

The film has been released in cinemas in around 15 countries, including Venezuela. In 2024, it will be released in 5 other countries, and under the title “Free”, it will be shown for one day only, on Thursday 2 November in almost 700 cinemas in the United States through Fathom Events (pre-sale active here).

Meeting with Pope Francis

The day after the presentation of “LIBRES” in Rome, Lucía González-Barandiarán, producer of the film, had a brief meeting with Pope Francis at the end of the Wednesday General Audience.

In her dialogue with the Pontiff, González-Barandiarán mentioned the work done with the film and the importance of showing the world the beauty of the contemplative life, to which the Pope encouraged her to “keep going forward”.

 

Trailer for the United States