(AGI) Rome, Feb 9 - The world premiere of "Shades of Truth", afilm-enquiry on the life of Pope Pius XII, is to be held onMarch 2, in the Vatican. It is based on witnesses and hundredsof documents. The film states he was not "Hitler's Pope" but asort of "Schindler of the Vatican" who saved 800,000 Jews. Thefilm was written and directed by Liana Marabini and will bereleased in Italy in April. The director told AGI: "This hasinvolved a considerable amount of work. I studied all I couldfind on the subject. The research was lengthy and it was noteasy to cover in a 90-minute film the content of almost 100,000pages I read, and tell it all in a simple and accessiblemanner. But it was worth it. It is an independent film,entirely self-financed. Pius XII is one person of the 20thcentury who has never been understood. This film is my act ofdevotion for a great pontiff and a priest whom I admired, andis a great moral example for me." The film poster shows thePope with a Star of David sewn on his gown. "This [the image]is a dream that the main character of the film (David Wall) hastowards the end of the course of his redemption, at the end ofa news enquiry for the magazine he was writing for. It is astrong image. You should have seen the emotion on the faces ofthe crew members as we were shooting the scene ... it wasamazing. Hence, I thought it could become the symbolic image ofthe film essential and eloquent." The historic character ofPius XII and his silence during the Nazi persecutions have beendebated for years. Today, historians agree that Pope Pacelliwas not at all Hitler's accomplice. Yet, there is still muchignorance and resistance. "I believe that only imbeciles do notchange their mind, not even before proofs. There is evidence inPope Pius XII story. Just think of the extraordinary workcarried out by the Holocaust historian, Sir Martin Gilbert, whodied last Tuesday, whose writings have much inspired me. He hadthe courage of not being aligned with the trivial commonopinions that considered Pope Pius XII 'Hitler's Pope'. SirGilbert, a Jew himself, accurately proved that it was false. Ihope, with my film, to make those people change their minds onthis great pontiff. A film, of course, lasts 90 minutes duringwhich it is difficult to describe a life lived in such crucialtimes, but I hope I have been successful. I am personally veryhappy with the result." (AGI).