“Joachim and the Apocalypse”: An Italian Visionary Film Bridging Theology, Technology, and Global Art Cinema

Joachim and the Apocalypse, the latest feature by Italian director Jordan River and produced by Delta Star Pictures, has recently drawn international attention following River’s audience with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. The meeting came shortly after the announcement that the film has been submitted for consideration in multiple categories for the 2026 Academy Awards.

Shot in ultra-high 12K resolution, the film offers an interpretation of the spiritual visions of the medieval thinker Joachim of Fiore, combining symbolic imagery inspired by the Liber Figurarum-the medieval collection of the abbot’s prophetic diagrams and theological illustrations- with experimental chromatherapy and theta-frequency–based sound design.

Delta Star Pictures, serving as both producer and distributor, positions the project as a bridge between Italian auteur cinema and high-end international art film circuits. Joachim and the Apocalypse stands out as one of the few Italian features to combine advanced visual technologies with theological and philosophical depth, opening new ground for cross-sector dialogue between Europe’s cultural heritage and cutting-edge cinematic innovation.

Italy Meets Hollywood spoke with director Jordan River and two key creative collaborators—make-up designer Vittorio Sodano and composer Michele Josia—whose contributions significantly shape the film’s visual identity.

Italy Meets Hollywood: What inspired you to explore Joachim of Fiore’s visionary theology, and what led you to portray his life as a spiritual journey?

Jordan River: For a director, starting a new project is always a new adventure. First of all, they must decide whether they want their work to evoke only questions in the viewer, or whether they wish to make use of cinema’s potential to offer the audience some answers, albeit subjective ones, but still a vision, and thus a form of answer within those visions

More than ‘theology’ in the strict sense, I was driven by a vision. Anyone who truly wants to explore the search for the divine — whatever their conception of God, even those who consider themselves atheists — and the otherworldly meaning of our existence will almost inevitably encounter the thought of Joachim of Fiore. This is what happened to Dante Alighieri, who was inspired by his Trinitarian vision to create his masterpiece, the Divine Comedy, now a true heritage of humanity. And it was no different for those who like to examine what happens after life on this earth and to address eschatological, universal themes, as happened with Michelangelo Buonarroti, who was influenced by Joachim’s writings on the Apocalypse when composing the Sistine Chapel. But the hopeful influence of this great figure in world culture has, over time, reached many others as well, including Christopher Columbus, who saw in the prophecies of Joachim of Fiore a hope for the discovery of the New World, which then materialised in a New Continent. This is what happened, without us realising it, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance to the present day. What led me to portray his life as a spiritual journey? Well, I didn’t want to create a straightforward biographical film. As there was so much to share with the viewer, I wanted to bring his visions — or prophecies, if one prefers — to life. In fact, many of the dialogues in the film were taken from his authentic writings, translated from Latin (into English, Italian, etc.). Alongside his texts, so rich in his vision, I also had a collection of miracles performed by Joachim of Fiore during his life and after his death, preserved by some of his disciples. In the film, I deliberately chose not to include any of those miracles for two main reasons: to avoid fostering idolatrous thoughts around the film and because I felt that, in treating the theme of the spirit, something authentic and extraordinary would happen around the film in any case. Some people who participated in the making of the film experienced healings from serious illnesses, or simply, after watching the film, even days later, many people had a feeling of inner well-being. Joachim of Fiore’s message of hope is not tied to the kind of miracle that human beings often seek; rather, the true ‘miracle’ is awakening in hearts the feelings and awareness of universal love. In Joachim’s vision, what matters is not the healing of the body but that of the spirit. A feeling shared by many after watching the film, conceived as a spiritual journey, is that this world, in relation to human nature, is not a place where we can remain forever, but rather a crossroads on a road leading towards the infinite.

Italy Meets Hollywood: Where in Italy did you shoot the film, and what drew you to those specific locations for Joachim and the Apocalypse?

Jordan River: Dealing with the vision of a visionary, the film is objectively highly ‘visual’. One of Joachim of Fiore’s most particular works, the Liber Figurarum (Book of Figures), the oldest copy of which is kept in Oxford, translates his figurative thinking into images. Joachim believed that the search for God should be accessible to everyone, even children, and not just the prerogative of those who study theology.

The locations are an important part of the film, contributing to a visual and emotional journey, as are the sets, which take us back to a time that seems almost suspended, as distant from us as it is close in its most intimate nature. The costumes, too, serve as an additional language in the character’s transformation and in the archetypes of the soul: Joachim alone, in fact, changes costume seven times (each costume representing a change of skin and of destiny). The make-up was also handled with great care, and for the actors’ tonsures, we did Not use artificial Bald Cap, as is usually done in cinema; instead, they were carried out for real. On set, the lead actor even underwent an actual tonsure before beginning the monastic part of the role. Naturally, visual effects were also widely used for the more fantastical scenes. The music and sound, together with the images, contribute to this neurosensory journey, which is best appreciated in the cinema, also thanks to innovations such as theta waves and densified music. The cinematography enhances to the fullest everything contained in each frame. Although Joachim was born in southern Italy, he travelled extensively and visited many places, including Jerusalem, where he encountered other cultures. It was in the Holy Land that he had his first mystical experiences. The scenes in the Holy Land were set in the Calanchi del Marchesato, in the province of Crotone. In the past, Pier Paolo Pasolini also shot some scenes from the film The Gospel According to Matthew (Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo) there. Joachim’s journey also leads him to Rome, where he meets the most influential figures of the time. Some of these events are set in an abbey in Alatri, around 1,500 years old; indeed, in 528, the site hosted Saint Benedict. Many real locations were therefore used, 24 in fact, to bring to life the beauty of medieval abbeys, mountains, bridges, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, ravines, ghost villages, stone cities, castles, nature parks, places of mystery and spirituality. In addition to the locations in Lazio, near Rome, I also wanted to discover the authentic places where Joachim had worked and where he had announced his vision of the Third Age of the Spirit. So we entered the heart of the Sila National Park where, according to experts, the air is the cleanest in Europe (I also think the purest in the world), both in various naturalistic places and in the province of Cosenza, in San Giovanni in Fiore – where the physical body of Joachim of Fiore rests and where the archaeological site with the ruins of the first Florense monastery (Jure Vetere) is located, the site of the most important Florense Abbey still standing in the world.

Italy Meets Hollywood: During your audience with the Holy Father, what struck you the most, and how did that encounter resonate with your vision for the film?

Jordan River: These are emotions that are always difficult to describe, precisely because each person experiences them uniquely and differently. I could feel that something important was happening. When I think about it, with my film, I was, in a sense, bringing together Pope Leo XIV and Joachim of Fiore, a figure who lived in the 12th century, more than 800 years ago. I knew that Pope Francis, a few months before his death, had identified Joachim as the one who “knew how to point to the ideal of a new spirit”, but I also knew that, thanks to his ability to see into the depths of the human soul, Joachim had been an adviser during his lifetime to no fewer than six Pontiffs (Pope Lucius III, Urban III, Gregory VIII, Clement III, Celestine III and Innocent III). But it wasn’t only because of this. About twenty-five years earlier, I had experienced a vision: I had dreamt that I met a Pope in the Vatican and shared a spiritual moment with him. That ‘vision’, taking on a broader meaning, has become an experience no longer only personal — in some way, it now belongs to everyone.

The project also features two internationally acclaimed Italian talents: make-up designer Vittorio Sodano, two-time Academy Award® nominee for Apocalypto (2006) and Il Divo (2010), and composer Michele Josia, whose original score plays a central role in shaping the film’s spiritual and sensory dimension.

Michele Josia (Composer)

Italy Meets Hollywood: Your score incorporates theta-frequency sound design, often linked to deep relaxation and introspection, as part of the film’s spiritual experience. How did you translate Joachim of Fiore’s visionary universe into musical terms?

Michele Josia: The use of theta frequencies was introduced only at the mixing stage, after the score had been completed, so that they would enrich the film’s spiritual atmosphere without interfering with the musical flow or the instrumental spectrum already present in the composition. Translating Joachim of Fiore’s visionary universe into music meant weaving together history and imagination. His tripartite vision of time — the Age of the Father, the Age of the Son, and the Age of the Holy Spirit — became three distinct musical identities: ancient instruments and Gregorian choirs for the first age, lyrical and harmonic sonorities for the second, and modern textures and soundscapes for the third. The challenge was not only to give each era its own voice, but to unite them into a single narrative arc capable of accompanying the film’s profound themes. In the end, Joachim and the Apocalypse became one of the most meaningful works of my career: a score that bridges past, present, and future, and speaks to universal human questions through sound.

Vittorio Sodano (Make-up Designer)

Italy Meets Hollywood: How did you approach the transformation of the characters in a film that blends historical symbolism with experimental visual language?

Vittorio Sodano: I approached the transformation of the characters by combining historical accuracy with creative freedom. I carefully studied period sources and, at the same time, used colors, textures, and prosthetics as a symbolic language to convey the director’s emotions and vision. Makeup thus becomes a bridge between reality and artistic interpretation.

Italy Meets Hollywood thanks Jordan River, Michele Josia and Vittorio Sodano for sharing their insights.

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