VATICAN CITY, Nov. 9 (UPI) — Vatican City will show a world premiere of a film for the first time when New Line’s “The Nativity Story” plays in the Vatican this month.
The newest film from “Lords of Dogtown” director Catherine Hardwicke will make its international debut Nov. 26 at the Vatican and will help raise funds for the construction of a school near Nazareth, Israel, said Zap2it.com.
“We are very proud of ‘The Nativity Story’ and extremely grateful that the Vatican has embraced the film in this way,” New Line exec Rolf Mittweg said of the unprecedented endeavor. “We believe it is the perfect venue to present the film’s universal message of hope and faith, a message we are sure will resonate around the world.”
As the title suggests, the New Line film focuses around the birth of Jesus that is central throughout the Roman Catholic Church and stars actress Keisha Castle-Hughes as his mother, Mary.
The Web site reported that the 16-year-old actress, who is pregnant, is one of the key names not named on the premiere’s limited guest list.