Vatican premiere for Pope movie

Piotr Adamczyk plays Karol Wojtyla, who became John Paul II

A film about Pope John Paul II's early life has been given its premiere in Vatican City.

The film, called Karol: The Man Who Became Pope, dramatises the life of Karol Wojtyla from when he was a young man in Poland until becoming pontiff.

Italian TV will show it in two parts, starting on Monday, when Roman Catholic cardinals meet to elect a new pope.

It was in production for months before the Pope died on 2 April. He is played by Polish actor Piotr Adamczyk.

"We were trying not to copy Karol Wojtyla," Adamczyk said.

Producers said the film would be released soon on DVD

"Not to copy his gestures, his voice - but to give symbols to try to touch the fragments of his great personality."

Last year, Pope John Paul II told Adamczyk: "You're crazy to make a film about me. What did I ever do?"

The movie, which had a budget of 11m euros (£7.5m), begins with Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939.

The future Pope was forced into hiding several years later following a crackdown on religious teaching.

In a recreation of the 1978 conclave that elected him Pope, one scene shows him as a cardinal, in tears as the votes are counted.

The film was shown at the Lateran Pontifical University in the Vatican

Producer Giacomo Battiato said: "The message of John Paul II... is the respect of the most unhappy people.

"What is interesting, I think and I hope, is that you understand while you look through his life why this message became his aim - his main task."

The film was shown at the Lateran Pontifical University on Thursday and film-makers said they had no objections from the Vatican despite embellishing some parts of the story for the dramatisation.

From Monday, 115 cardinals will choose a new pope with two balloting sessions a day - each with two votes.