De Man uit Rome tells the story of the skeptical Italian investigative priest Filippo, who is commissioned by the Vatican to investigate and unmask a weeping statue of the Virgin Mary in a Limburg border village where, four years earlier, a schoolboy started a shooting at a local high school. Attracted to and unsettled by the young silent Térèse, he becomes embroiled in the grief of the village. A series of seemingly miraculous events undermine his certainties about his vocation as a priest and as a human being.

Type: feature film
Length: 100 minutes
Production company: IJswater Films
Year: 2022, funded by the regulation ‘Realisatie – Lang (Spring 2021)’.
Shot in: Maastricht, amongst other places

Synopsis

The skeptical Italian investigative priest Filippo (36) arrives on assignment from Rome to investigate and unmask a weeping statue of the Virgin Mary in a Limburg border village where, four years earlier, a schoolboy emptied his gun on the local vmbo. Attracted and unsettled by the silent young woman who discovered the tears, he becomes increasingly embroiled in a series of seemingly miraculous events and the grief of the village and must ultimately choose between his head and his heart.

Cast & crew

Director: Jaap van Heusden
Producer: Marc Bary
Writer: Jaap van Heusden
Cast: Raymond Thiry, Michele Riondino, Emma Bading