The Dispatch: More from CWR...

Delayed because of pandemic, new Fatima movie to open on August 28th

Fatima emphasizes the “courage, heroism, and faith” of the three shepherd children who saw the mother of God, the film’s producer says.

A scene from "Fatima", available in theaters and on demand on August 28, 2020. (Photo Courtesy of Picturehouse ©2020)

Picturehouse will release its new film Fatima, in theaters and on demand on Friday, August 28. It is a re-telling of the story of the Blessed Mother’s appearances to three children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917, among the most popular private revelations in the history of the Church.

The film opens in 1980s Portugal, as author and skeptic Professor Nichols (Harvey Keitel, The Irishman, The Piano) visits a convent in the riverside city of Coimbra, where octogenarian Sister Lúcia (Sônia Braga, Aquarius) recounts the Blessed Mother’s visit to her in Fatima 70 years before.  In a flashback, we meet a young Lúcia (Stephanie Gil, Terminator: Dark Fate), who is visited by the guardian angel of Portugal in a cave; she has a vision of her brother fighting in the First World War, and the angel teaches her a prayer.

Later, while tending sheep, Lúcia and her younger cousins Jacinta (Alejandra Howard) and Francisco (Jorge Lamelas) are visited by another apparition, this time of the Virgin Mary (Joana Ribeiro). The “Lady of the Rosary,” as she calls herself, tells the children they must pray and suffer in order to bring an end to the Great War. She also asks them to return to the same spot every month for six months.

Lúcia encounters difficulties with her devout mother (Lúcia Moniz, Love, Actually) who doesn’t believe in the apparitions, and the secular and progressive town mayor Artur (Goran Višnjić, Beginners), who tries to suppress the apparitions. The story culminates on October 13, 1917, the date when the Virgin promised a grand miracle to prove the authenticity of the apparitions. A final vision includes images of the third secret of Fatima, revealed by Pope St. John Paul in 2000.

The film features the original song “Gratia Plena” (“Full of Grace”), performed by Andrea Bocelli and composed by renowned Italian composer Paolo Buonvino.  The director is Marco Pontecorvo (Pa-ra-da, Game of Thrones) from a script by Pontecorvo, Valerio D’Annunzio and Barbara Nicolosi.

Pontecorvo noted that he was familiar with the story of Fatima from his upbringing in Italy. He said, “I didn’t know any of the details of Lúcia’s life or about Portugal in that era, so I had to jump into the history. Because it took place at the height of the First World War, the politics were an important element, but I focused primarily on the relationships, particularly between the mother and the daughter, and Lúcia and the Virgin Mary. The triangle is quite interesting.”

His character of Mary is a “flesh-and-blood woman,” he continued, and “the children see her in a way they can understand and not be afraid: the figure of a mother.”

Dick Lyles is a producer of the film and a practicing Catholic. He spoke to CWR about the production.

CWR: There are many books and a 1952 movie about the story of Fatima.  Why did you want to make this movie, and why at this time?

Dick Lyles: The 1952 movie, The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima, was great, but was rather “Disney-esque.” Its characters were caricatures, and it makes light of the story and what happened at Fatima in 1917.  We wanted to tell a more realistic story through the eyes of the shepherd children, particularly Lúcia. We wanted to demonstrate how these children had courage, heroism, and faith.

CWR: Tell me the process about developing your script and casting your actors.

Lyles: It was a long process, taking more than a decade to produce the film. We were blessed with an excellent director, Marco Pontecorvo, who comes from a long line of filmmakers in Europe. His father, Gillo Pontecorvo, was one of the most famous directors in Italy in the past 50 years. Marco Pontecorvo is an experienced cinematographer, who had worked with children before who loved the story and was impressed by what happened at Fatima.

Our three shepherd children were cast out of Spain.  They are very talented, and carried the film. Stephanie Gil, our Lúcia, did an incredible job. Joana Ribeiro, our Mary, was stunningly beautiful. We were lucky to get a cast perfect for their roles, and a script that told the story the way it happened.

Additionally, we talked about what was happening in Portugal at the time. The 1952 movie made little mention of it. It was towards the end of World War I and the Portuguese were in the midst of a civil war. This gives the story a more realistic context.

Bocelli sang our theme song, which made for an amazing soundtrack.

CWR: Is the movie true to the original events that happened in Fatima?

Lyles: Yes, and the Shrine of Fatima acknowledged as much.  The shrine declared, “Through his artistic choices, director Marco Pontecorvo conveys with dignity and integrity the actions of those who experienced the Fatima event. The film leads us to reflect that 100 years later, the light of God that the Virgin Mary shined upon Francisco, Jacinta, and Lúcia still lights the way for those who commit to a life of faith in the Gospel.”

When we screened the finished film for them, they said it was the best movie about Fatima ever made.

CWR: The film was shot entirely in Portugal. Tell me about the process of finding your locations and shooting at these sites.

Lyles: It was a movie involving many people, including 2,500 extras, 75 cast members, and 250 crew. Almost everyone was from Portugal, and had a personal connection with Fatima. You’d hear things like, “My grandfather was there!” They were all excited about being involved with the movie.

Filming in Portugal was a challenge. Our apparition scenes, for example, were filmed in a wild game preserve about halfway between Fatima and Lisbon. At night, boar and deer would eat our equipment. We had to build an electrified fence around it at night and take it down in the morning.

We had to create two swimming pools to create our rain scenes. Each time we did a take, we’d have 2,500 people in costume, we’d rain on them, drench them and then yell “cut.” They’d go and change into new costumes so we could do additional takes. During the second take, we’d wash and dry their clothes for a third take.

It was also hot, nearly 100 degrees. Each of our three shepherds had a person assigned to them with a water spray bottle to cool them off, and an umbrella to shade them from the sun.

The children spent a lot of time on their knees, so during rehearsals we’d have them kneel on a pillow, and during takes we put knee pads under their clothes.

Everyone did a magnificent job.

CWR: The pandemic delayed your release.

Lyles: Yes. We were scheduled to open on April 24, but with the theaters closed, we had to move our start date to August 28. We will be in over 1,000 theaters that weekend.

We are hoping we have a strong showing in the first couple of weeks, which makes it much more likely we will have a wider distribution and stay in the theaters longer. It is only available now in the theaters, so we encourage everyone to turn out. Some might even consider “buying out” a theater showing and then bringing family and friends.

CWR: Who should see this film?

Lyles: We made it as a “crossover” film, so it could be enjoyed by people of all backgrounds. It is a compelling story, exciting, with courage and heroism. Anyone can enjoy the film, even those who are not devotees of Fatima. During our test screenings, the film was enjoyed by people of all ages and every faith background.

CWR: Mel Gibson’s 2004 The Passion of the Christ was a hugely successful religious film. What success have religious films had in the years since?

Lyles: Some do well, some do not. We’re optimistic that Fatima has the production values, story, and message to be a blockbuster.

• Readers can visit www.FatimaTheMovie.com for the latest information on where and how to watch the movie.


If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.


About Jim Graves 233 Articles
Jim Graves is a Catholic writer living in Newport Beach, California.

8 Comments

  1. I am so looking forward to seeing this film. I’m sure I read Mel Gibson actually met with Sister Maria Lúcia. The vision at Tre Fontaine would also make a good film. Maybe one day.

  2. I cant wait to see this movie. I am like a anxious kid at Christmas waiting for Christmas morning and I totally agree with Hannah. A movie about the apparition at Tre Fontane would be am excellent movie even been to Tre Fontane myself.

  3. I firmly believe in Fatima. My wife and I were there in 2012, it was glorious. We saw filming going on in the Basilica. Was that because of this movie being made? We are now 84 and 85 years old, we are yet happy to see the original movie. So happy to hear a new one is coming so soon. I have been hoping a miracle would happen, as we need this now, as what is going on in Washington is truly the work of the Devil. We hope millions will watch and believe as we do, I know thats not always possible, but with God and Mary, all things are possible.As the Blessed mother said in the 1952 movie, Russia will spread her errors every-where in the World,our Lord is much offended. My family believes this Pandemic is a test in the world to make the people know the evil going on in our country, and the men and women are there to spread the evil for money and profit. I dont have to name names, as we know from where it comes.God Bless you all for your new Movie and its success. I was 17 years old in 1952, now at 85, anxiously await your new fact filled production.

  4. So Jacinta and Francisco Marto are being eliminated from the visitations of the Angel of Portugal in 1916 in this film? I’m sorry but that’s a strong strike against this film. Is it so hard for the filmmakers to both tell a story accurately but also make it compelling for audiences? I’d hoped the changes would end with Lucia’s brother being in the war and Our Lady walking on the earth rather than floating above the Holm Oak Tree as has been discussed in other articles.

    I’m starting to worry the film will downplay the spirituality of Fatima which is one not comfortable for most Catholics today! I doubt we will see scenes of the penances the children undertook for the conversion of sinners. It seems in an effort to appease Protestants (who HATE Our Lady with a passion!!) the film is downplaying the Catholicity of the story. Sorry guys, but Protestants hate Our Lady and will not see this film so why try to appease them?

    I will still watch the film as I trust the woman who was the original screenwriter, Barbara Nicolosi, but I’m a bit skeptical.

    If you want a very faithful film adaption of the Fatima story seek out “Apparitions at Fatima” directed by Daniel Costelle. The film has been shown at the Fatima Shrine for almost 30 years and was praised by Sr. Lucia and St. John John Paul II!

  5. I hope it’s not too different from the original. I’m sure Sister Lucy saw the original, and approved. People sometimes take too many liberties with what actually happened. I am going to stick with the original.

1 Trackback / Pingback

  1. 'Fatima', the Movie: A Revisionist Tale - Catholic Family News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.


*