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Trial of a Pope
Bournemouth, United Kingdom
Aim
Desperate to prevent the exposure of his illegitimate child, Pope Stephen is persuaded to order the exhumation and trial of his predecessor.
Synopsis
In 897 Rome, Pope Stephen VI secretly fathers an illegitimate child with the royal Rothilde of Spoleto. As rumours spread, he fears losing both his papacy and his son. Pressured by King Lambert, he agrees to misdirect Rome by framing his predecessor, Pope Formosus, as the child’s true father. To do so, Lambert insists he must exhume and put Formosus’s seven-month-old corpse on trial and Stephen agrees. But once the trial concludes, Lambert betrays him, ensuring Stephen will never see his child. What began as an act of love becomes an act of futility. In trying to avoid choosing, Stephen realises he already has and he has chosen wrong.
True Story
This film is an adaptation of the real historical trial ‘Cadaver Synod’ of 897AD. Till this day, historians are uncertain as to why the trial took place. Using a fictional explanation behind something so outlandish and inexplicable to explore what can be revealed about human nature when we attempt to rationalise the act.
This is a story of moral compromise and how, under immense pressure, desperation will lead us to act in ways we never usually would.
The film will feel increasingly suffocating, as though, with each scene, the walls are increasingly closing in. Stephen becomes trapped within the frame: shots that tighten around him, smothering shadows and restrictive blocking. When the body is finally dragged into the light, and it’s too late to turn back. Everything becomes visible: stark, cold, and unforgiving. Clarity hits like a hangover after a night of regret.
Stephen and Lambert are opposites: one ruled by heart, the other by head. Yet they depend on one another. Walking away means neither gets what they want, driving a tense and compelling on-screen conflict.
One of our main aims with cinematography is to create two opposing styles to reflect Pope Stephen's mental state, before and after Pope Formosus' corpse is exhumed. First, light will be warm but low-key producing high contrast and a dark, tense, secretive mood. Cold and grey tones to convey regret and reality will follow. Softer shadows and revealing bright light will mimic an overcast dawn; the clarity and truth that Stephen's desperation repressed is undeniably haunting. Challenges and opportunities of a period production include convincingly recreating light and ambience from only three sources: the sun, the moon and fire. This is our priority.
In terms of camera, Stephen's sense of confinement will be represented as shots become tighter and anxiety-inducing. Similarly, shallower depth of field will be utilised to make the atmosphere suffocating and claustrophobic. Frame within frames will create a sense of Stephen's 'tunnel vision' and slow camera movement leading to eventual paralysis will be employed to create an ominous and foreboding tone. Finally, camera height and angle will suggest Stephen's power and realised lack of it.
Our vision for production design is to accentuate the increasingly suffocating atmosphere of the film through our design concept. We intend to exploit spatial design by creating stark compositions that communicate the power dynamics between characters and the claustrophobic pressure felt by Pope Stephen VI. Historical accuracy will also be at the heart of our design concept, as we are filming on location, it is imperative that our props and set dressings transport our audience to 9th-century Rome. Working with a deep, rich colour palette will not only express the overarching themes of power, love, and fear, but also identify the social hierarchy, establishing a clear divide between royal and papal settings.
We have been in contact with stunning locations in the UK that evoke the atmosphere of Ancient Rome, including medieval vaults, an Italianate basilica and a castle. With the creativity of our production design team, these spaces will be transformed into authentic 9th-century settings, proving that this ambitious historical story is fully achievable on screen.
My vision for the hair and makeup is to create a world that feels authentic to 9th-century Italy; raw, textured and grounded in realism. I want each character to subtly reflect their class and state of mind. The royals appear clean and refined, the clergy, pale and weary, and the commoners, marked by labour from daily life.
I want the colour palette to draw from natural muted tones - warm, soft browns and aged folds to evoke the era's richness, without looking too inauthentic. The makeup will enhance texture rather than conceal it, allowing imperfections, sweat and shadow to tell the story.
Overall, my goal is to make every face on screen feel lived in and believable.
Working with the warm, earthy colour scheme of the production design and utilising vibrant pops of red, I created an initial moodboard that guided my designs going forward. I looked at extant garments of the early Holy Roman Empire, as well as mosaics and paintings, to ground my ideas in the period. Overall, my vision is to create a convincingly historical world through the costumes: using heavy drapery to catch the deep shadows and gold embroidery to play off the low candlelight; creating an immersive atmosphere that absorbs us into the story.
My initial sketches for Pope Stephen illustrate both his full papal vestments and his state of semi-undress in his linen Alb. The connotations of holiness, innocence and purity that the soft, white linen of the garment promotes is very fitting for his character at the start of the film. As the story progresses, however, he becomes weighed down by the pressure of his situation, and begins to feel suffocated and trapped- I created sketches displaying how the garments, layer by layer, create a sense of heaviness and discomfort- illustrating the great burden of his high office and the claustrophobic weight of his situation. The garments grow in grandeur- displaying his departure from simplicity and honesty and his journey into the world of vain self-preservation.
Lambert’s initial sketch captures his visual opposition to Stephen. Where Stephen is honest and good-hearted, Lambert is scheming and vain; draped in silk and gold and appearing somewhat ostentatious and overdressed- he cares greatly for his image and the preservation of his reputation. He is the power that dominates Stephen’s good intentions and manipulates him into committing a great evil. Visually, too, his rich colours and shining silks dominate Stephen’s soft white linen. The layers of his costume- especially the red mantle- create a grand silhouette that casts Stephen in his shadow.
Rothilde appears like an icon of the Virgin Mary in her white shift and veil- made somewhat ironic by the messy reality of childbirth. Rothilde’s pure white ties her visually to Stephen and blends her in with her bedchamber, creating a catholicized and somewhat romantic image of her labour.
Appearing like the skeletal relic of a dead saint in a foreboding and visually striking shade of vibrant red, the corpse of Stephen’s predecessor is haunting with sheer gauze stretched over the outline of his mottled grey features- revealing only the suggestion of the horror beneath. His shrunken form contrasts with the beauty of his decorative vestments.
The browns and tans of the supporting cast tie the characters to the location and make them feel a part of the world of the film, creating an almost theatrical ‘chorus’ of background characters that build out the setting.
Set in Rome, 897 AD, and filming in the UK presents its own challenges, and the majority of our budget will be dedicated to the Art and Costume Departments, so that we can authentically recreate the world of 9th-century Rome with the level of detail, accuracy, and artistry it deserves.
This is not just a university film made by students; it is a project approached with the rigor, ambition, and creativity of professional filmmakers. Your support will help us bring this extraordinary historical tale to life, with intricate production design, carefully researched costumes, and visuals that will transport audiences to a time long past.
Please help us turn this vision into a reality.
On behalf of the crew, we want you to know how deeply invested we are in this story. This isn’t just a story from the past, it’s a narrative that challenges us to examine power, morality, and human behaviour in ways that still resonate today. Every department is bringing their creativity and expertise to make this story as vivid and impactful as possible, from the smallest costume detail to the most intricate set. We’re excited for the challenge, to push our craft, and create a film that lingers in the mind. Your support helps us turn this ambitious vision into a cinematic experience that truly matters.
Lambert’s suggestion of a grotesque spectacle to misdirect Rome may feel outlandish today, the sort of act we comfort ourselves by thinking, “Thank God we don’t live like that anymore.” But we do. Countless cover-ups remain hidden, while everyday influential figures disguise moral corruption and manipulation as justice or necessity. This film dissects an extreme case to explore the psychology of power and why so much of our history is laced with this recurring misuse of influence.
I grew up surrounded by faith. My grandfather was a minister; my great-uncle, an Anglo-Catholic bishop. Though I no longer consider myself religious, Christianity shaped much of my early life. Yet one thing still resonates deeply with me is the search for purpose. The need to understand why we are here.
Beneath the drama and theatrics, this idea lies at the heart of the film. Through Stephen, our anti-hero, I wanted to explore how even a man at the very top of our hierarchy could feel lost and unsure. That uncertainty becomes all-consuming. Unclear of God’s will and his own purpose, he convinces himself he’s been granted the answer through fatherhood and so he clings to it desperately, irrationally as if this single act might finally give his life meaning.
I have spent so much of my life considering: Why am I here? Who am I? What am I doing? What do I truly want? I think that’s what so many of us are searching for. Answers.
This film isn’t here to provide them. It’s here to present that hunger, and to explore how, when stretched to its limits, that kind of spiritual starvation can drive people to act in irrational, even destructive ways.
Ultimately, the film is intended to test the bounds of our empathy and to make us question how a man in such a unique position and circumstance might, in some ways, be just like us deep down.
This project successfully funded on 11th December 2025