January 28, 2021 - 14:48 AMT
Armenian Genocide recognition efforts featured in new Pope Francis doc

"Francesco", a documentary feature about Pope Francis directed and produced by the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky, has been acquired by discovery+. The piece chronicles the Pope's efforts to educate the world about the Armenian Genocide, his work around the globe and views — on LGBTQ issues, climate change, migration and refugees, women's empowerment, sexual abuse, border walls and more.

The film premiered at Rome Film Festival in 2020 to strong notices, and will air on March 28.

Among the producers of the the documentary is Emmy-nominated Armenian-American film producer Eric Esrailyan who broke the news of discover+ acquiring the film in an Instagram post.

"We are honored to share the news about our film “Francesco” with Pope Francis! @discovery announced the global release 3/28 during Holy Week on @discoveryplus as its major documentary acquisition," Esrailyan wrote.

"Our film also shares Pope Francis’ efforts to educate the world about the Armenian Genocide and documents his pilgrimage to Armenia in 2016."