Skip to main content
Conclave film image; man dressed as cardinal walking through group of other religion-clad people

Conclave

Special Presentations

This event has passed

When the sitting Pope shuffles off this mortal coil, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is handed the responsibility of marshalling the Catholic Church’s most influential figures and orchestrating the arcane process of electing a successor. Sequestered in the Vatican, several cardinals—including John Lithgow’s Cardinal Tremblay—turn cutthroat in their bid to lay claim to the papal throne. As conspiracies come to light and factions are formed, the unassuming Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz) harbours a secret that may have seismic consequences.

In his follow up to the Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger delivers another immaculately crafted, psychologically complex morality tale. Gifted with a gloriously refined screenplay by Peter Straughan (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), Berger elicits finely calibrated performances from a powerhouse cast that includes Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini. And while Stephane Fontaine’s cinematography ensures a succession of sublime compositions, it’s the dramatic tension resulting from faith running afoul of corruption that keeps us riveted.

 

Media Partner

Director
Cast

Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Carlos Diehz, Lucian Msamati, Brían F. O’Byrne

Credits
Country of Origin

USA/UK

Year

2024

Language

In English and Italian with English subtitles

Film Contact
18+
120 min
Action & Suspense Drama
FilmNation Entertainment, House Productions, Indian Paintbrush

Book Tickets

This event has passed.

Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Steven Rales, Glen Basner, Alison Cohen, Milan Popelka, Ben Browning, Len Blavatnik, Danny Cohen, Zoe Edwards, Harry Dixon, Paul Randle, Tomas Alfredson, Edward Berger, Ralph Fiennes, Peter Straughan, Robyn Slovo, Mario Gianani, Lorenzo Gangarossa

Producer

Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, Michael A. Jackman, Robert Harris, Alice Dawson

Cinematography

Stéphane Fontaine

Screenwriter

Peter Straughan

Editor

Nick Emerson

Production Design

Suzie Davies

Original Music

Volker Bertelmann

Edward Berger headshot; Conclave director

Edward Berger

Edward Berger is a German director and screenwriter. His notable work includes the critically acclaimed TV series Deutschland 83 (2015) and the feature drama Jack (2014). His adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel, All Quiet on the Western Front (2022), earned him three BAFTA Awards, the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, and a nomination for Best Director.

Filmography: Jack (2014); All My Loving (2019); All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Frankenstein

Dir. Guillermo del Toro
149 min

Frankenstein and Guillermo del Toro might have been made for each other. The movie does not disappoint, a ripping yarn of grand adventure, spectacle, hubris, passion and XXL body parts, a tale of the fantastic that rings the imagination. Screening in 35mm.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Dir. Göran Hugo Olsson
240 min

Drawing on 30 years of television archives, Göran Hugo Olsson relates the early history of the state of Israel, as reported by Swedish filmmakers, politicians and journalists. "An astonishing, invaluable document." William Mullally, The National

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Ballad of a Small Player

Dir. Edward Berger
105 min

Colin Farrell stars in this noir film about a gambler running out of luck in Macau, from the director of Conclave and All Quiet on the Western Front. Tilda Swinton, Fala Chen and Deannie Yip costar.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Woman in the Dunes

Dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara
147 min

Teshigahara's collaboration with novelist Kōbō Abe's is vividly strange, erotic and unsettling allegory about an amateur entymologist who is himself ensnared in a trap he only dimly understands. Screening in 35mm.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Checkpoint Zoo

Dir. Joshua Zeman
107 min

The amazing true story of the rescue of thousands of animals trapped on the frontline at an Ecopark when Russia invades Ukraine in 2022.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Predators

Dir. David Osit
96 min

"Punk'd for pedophiles." That's what Jimmy Kimmel called Chris Hansen's true crime/reality TV show, To Catch a Predator (2004-07). Two decades on, David Osit examines why the show made such an impact, for good or ill, and sits down with Hansen himself.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre