Pope Joan

Pope Joan (2009)

Die Päpstin

A 9th century woman of English extraction born in the German city of Ingelheim disguises herself as a man and rises through the Vatican ranks.

Date of release
2009-10-22
TMDB
6.8 / 10 (371)
Runtime
2h 29m
Genres
Drama, History, Romance
Director
Sönke Wortmann

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Budget: €22M
  • Based on: Pope Joan

Pope Joan is a 2009 epic historical drama film produced by Bernd Eichinger, based on American novelist Donna Woolfolk Cross' novel of the same name about the legendary Pope Joan. Directed by Sönke Wortmann, it stars Johanna Wokalek as Joan, David Wenham as Gerold, her lover, and John Goodman as Pope Sergius II. The film's world premiere occurred in Berlin on 19 October 2009, with its general release in Germany on 22 October 2009.

Production

The film's production took a long time and was marked by financial and cast difficulties. The Oscar-winner Volker Schlöndorff's attempt to film the novel began in 1999, at first with the production companies UFA and Senator, until the latter was declared bankrupt in 2004, when he moved to Bernd Eichinger and Constantin Film. The planned principal photography was finally shelved in 2007 by a cancellation by John Goodman.

Shooting began in early August 2008 at Burg Querfurt in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Other locations were the cloister of the Landesschule Pforta and the church of St. Cyriakus in Gernrode, with the Rome scenes filmed in Ouarzazate, Morocco. Principal shooting was completed in 2008 in Germany and Morocco.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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