On 15 November, at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV welcomed Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, Greta Gerwig and dozens of other Hollywood luminaries to a special audience celebrating cinema and its ability to inspire and unite.

The Pope encouraged the filmmakers and celebrities gathered in a frescoed Vatican audience hall to use their art to include marginal voices, calling film “a popular art in the noblest sense, intended for and accessible to all.”

“When cinema is authentic, it does not merely console, but challenges,” he told the stars. “It articulates the questions that dwell within us, and sometimes, even provokes tears that we didn’t know we needed to shed.”

The event, organized by the Vatican’s culture ministry, followed similar audiences Pope Francis had in recent years with famous artists and comedians. The encounter is part of the Vatican’s efforts to reach out beyond the Catholic Church to engage with the secular world.

Just brilliant

Brillante Ma. Mendoza, the first Filipino filmmaker to win Best Director for full-length film at the Cannes International Film Festival, seems to be in hibernation now from anything that has to do with film production.

Well, he really just seems to be uninvolved. He is actually pre-occupied with conducting master classes in filmmaking in international film festivals or being head of a jury or a member of the jury in global film events.

Mendoza personally informed us that he was jury president for the second edition of the Cinema at Sea–Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival, held in Okinawa, Japan from 22 February to 2 March this year.

As head of the jury, Mendoza was tasked with evaluating all entries, including feature films and documentaries, submitted to the festival’s competition.

In Morocco in 2024, he was jury president of Festival International du Cinema D’Author de Rabat.

The first time Mendoza became a jury member was at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2009. He later also headed the jury in Locarno, Switzerland.

By now, he has served as jury head or jury member in about 30 international film festivals including those in Brussels, Istanbul in Turkey, Hiroshima in Japan, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan (Eurasia International Film Festival), Moscow, Morocco, Singapore, Malaysia, the Vesoul International Film Fest in France, Mumbai in India, Cairo in Egypt, Iran, the Silk Road International Film Festival in China. He has once also headed the jury at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

As for being a conductor of master classes, he informed us that his latest was at the 31st Kolkata [Calcutta] International Film Festival (KIFF) on 10 November.

Google’s AI (artificial intelligence) recalls that in Calcutta, Mendoza focused on “his unique, ultra-realistic filmmaking process and his approach to telling truthful stories that amplify the voices of ordinary people.”

The AI reveals that the key themes in his master class included authenticity and realism, the Found Story style, immersive character development, social commentary, and “technical style.”

Google’s AI elucidated that Mendoza’s authenticity in filmmaking expresses his profound belief that “cinema should reflect life as it unfolds.”

That requirement leads to Mendoza’s “Found Story Style” which means he bases his storylines on actual people, experiences, or social situations, rather than relying on a set script.

The filmmaker’s “immersive character development” refers to making his actors experience the actual environments and situations of their characters, thus, “allowing for natural, instinctive reactions and genuine portrayals.”

Mendoza’s “social commentary” is described as “his commitment to films that address significant social issues, such as the struggles of the urban poor, corruption, and the drug trade in the Philippines.”

And by “technical style,” Google’s AI points out that this refers to Mendoza’s “technical choices. such as the use of actual locations instead of artificial sets, and a camera style that follows the characters closely to give the audience the perspective of an intimate onlooker.”

Mendoza, further recalled AI, stressed in that master class in Calcutta that Mendoza feels “it is essential to tell the narratives of everyday individuals, whose experiences are often overlooked in mainstream cinema.”

Has Mendoza also given a master class at the Cannes International Film Festival?

Yes, in 2017. Mendoza was invited by the Institut Français to serve as a mentor (or “Godfather”) at the 9th Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde, a program held during the Cannes film festival that supports emerging filmmakers. His involvement was intended to inspire new talent with his experience and unique approach to filmmaking.

In that master class, Mendoza mentored 10 up-and-coming directors from various countries, including South Africa, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mali, Myanmar, and Peru, on the development of their first or second feature films.

He was invited by the Institut Français due to his “talent, determination and experience” which served to inspire the participants of the program.

Mendoza delivered a master class at the 2025 edition of the global film festi in Espinho, Portugal. The session, titled “Behind the Scenes of Ma’ Rosa,” focused on his “Found School of Thought” approach to telling urgent, realistic stories.

He has also conducted master classes at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI Goa). Mendoza was an “Excellence in Cinema” awardee and engaged with aspiring filmmakers at the FilAm Creative Film Festival in 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Mendoza’s last film was Moro, released in 2023 on Netflix and still available for viewing, including his other earlier film, Amo.

Moro was top-billed by Piolo Pascual, Baron Geisler, Laurice Guillen and Christopher de Leon. Pascual and Geisler portray warring brothers whose parents are depicted by Guillen and De Leon.