Conclave (film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Conclave (film)
US theatrical release poster
Directed by	Edward Berger
Produced by	Tessa Ross Juliette Howell Michael Jackman Alice Dawson Robert Harris
Screenplay by	Peter Straughan
Starring	Ralph Fiennes Stanley Tucci John Lithgow Isabella Rossellini
Music by	Volker Bertelmann
Cinematography	Stéphane Fontaine
Editing by	Nick Emerson
Studio	FilmNation Entertainment House Productions Indian Paintbrush
Distributed by	Black Bear UK (United Kingdom) Focus Features (United States)
Release date(s)	August 30, 2024 (2024-08-30) (Telluride) October 25, 2024 (2024-10-25) (United States) November 29, 2024 (2024-11-29) (United Kingdom)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Money made	$101.4 million

Conclave is a 2024 political thriller film directed by Edward Berger and written by Peter Straughan, based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris. The film stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, and Isabella Rossellini. In the film, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Fiennes) organises a conclave to elect the next pope and finds himself investigating secrets and scandals about the major candidates.

After premiering at the 51st Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2024, Conclave was released in theaters in the United States by Focus Features on October 25 and in the United Kingdom by Black Bear UK on November 29. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances, directing, screenplay, and cinematography. The film has grossed $101 million worldwide on a $20 million production budget.

Conclave was named one of the top ten films of 2024 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. Among other accolades, it won four awards at the 78th British Academy Film Awards—the joint-most of the evening—for Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast. At the 97th Academy Awards, it received eight nominations, including Best Picture, and won Best Adapted Screenplay.

Cast

Production

It was announced in May 2022 that Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, and Isabella Rossellini were set to star in the film, with Edward Berger directing. Additional casting was announced in January 2023 as production began in Rome. Filming also took place at Cinecittà. Filming concluded in March.

The set designers took great care to replicate the Sistine Chapel, though they took some artistic license with the Domus Sanctae Marthae. They made their set more prison-like to enhance dramatic tension because they felt that the real version was rather dull. Costume designers visited Gammarelli, Tirelli Costumi, and several museums in Rome as part of their research. For the cardinals' red attire, costume designer Lisy Christl opted for a hue used in 17th-century cardinal vestments, rather than the scarlet one from modern-day ones, believing it be "far more beautiful and far easier for our eyes".

While writing the screenplay, Straughan said that he met with a cardinal to discuss the logistics of the conclave. He also took a private tour of the Vatican, and said he did not feel hostility while there and felt that the Vatican had been open to him.

Music

German composer Volker Bertelmann composed the score to Conclave, his fifth collaboration with Berger. In an interview with IndieWire, Bertelmann discussed developing a sound that was neither "too ecclesiastical [nor] classical", leading to experimentation with lesser-known instruments. As a result, much of the score makes use of the Cristal Baschet, a crystallophone played using wet hands. A similar approach was used for Bertelmann's score for Berger's All Quiet on the Western Front (2022), where a harmonium was used.

Due to many characters sharing scenes in the film, Bertelmann chose to create themes for specific situations as opposed to themes for individual characters. In addition, he had string players use a ricochet bowing technique. In order to mirror the film's conflicting factions within the cardinals, Bertelmann sometimes incorporated polyrhythms, such as triplets against sixteenth notes.

Release

In August 2022, Black Bear Pictures' newly founded British distribution arm acquired U.K. distribution rights to the film from FilmNation Entertainment, serving as one of its first acquisitions and maiden releases in the United Kingdom; Black Bear's company Elevation Pictures also serves as Canadian distributor. Steven Rales served as one of the executive producers, co-financing the film via his production company, Indian Paintbrush.

In November 2023, Focus Features acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. In July 2024, Conclave was announced as part of the Special Presentations section for the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival scheduled for 8 September 2024. The film would subsequently be announced as part of the lineup for the Telluride Film Festival, where it had its world premiere. Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera explained why the film did not play at Venice: "I didn't think it was a Competition film for Venice but I invited it Out of Competition. We tried to figure out timing for it to play here and at Telluride, which they also wanted, but we couldn't find the right dates and timing for it to work. We discussed various options but couldn't get the time that suited everyone. It's a shame."

The film was released in the United States on 25 October 2024. It was previously scheduled for a limited theatrical release on 1 November before opening wide on the following week. It was released in the United Kingdom on 29 November.

Accolades

See also

In Spanish: Cónclave (película de 2024) para niños

• List of current cardinals
• Papabile
• The Shoes of the Fisherman (film)