About the Film

This episode of WIDE ANGLE chronicles the life of the Vatican in the days between the announcement of Pope John Paul II’s death and the election of the new pope by a conclave, the group of more than 100 cardinals who gather in Rome’s Sistine Chapel for this historic vote. Filmed over three weeks, White Smoke documents the process through the eyes of key inside players. A Vatican-based priest, a veteran journalist who has covered the Vatican for years, the Pope’s photographer and others in the inner circle portray the maelstrom of intrigue and politics that fuel the selection of the new leader of the l billion-member Roman Catholic Church.