Angelina Jolie screened her sophomore directorial effort Unbroken at the Pontifical Academy for Sciences on Thursday for several Vatican officials and ambassadors, giving her and two of her children a chance to have a rare private audience with Pope Francis. While Francis himself did not watch the film, Vatican spokesman Rev. Federicoo Lombardi praised Unbroken for showing ‘‘positive human and spiritual values, in particular forgiveness.’’

Unbroken tells the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who enlisted in World War II. During the war, Zamperini’s B-24 bomber crashed in the Pacific, and he was forced to live on a raft for 47 days before being “rescued” by the Japanese and tortured in a prisoner of war camp. Jolie, who in addition to being a director and award-winning actress is also a United Nations special envoy, said in an interview last year that filming Unbroken renewed her faith in “the divine.” After she screened the film in the Vatican, the Argentine head of the pontifical academy, Monsignor Marcello Sanchez Sorondo, arranged for Jolie to meet with Francis. While her meeting with the pope reportedly lasted “just a few minutes,” Jolie said in a statement on Thursday that it was incredibly significant to her.

“Being invited with my film to the Vatican is an honor and a great tribute to the story that I have told in Unbroken. The story of the hero Louis a great example of strength and forgiveness.”

Pictures released of the encounter show Jolie gently clasping Francis’ hands and smiling. Zamperini’s real-life son Luke and two of Jolie’s daughters also got the opportunity to attend the screening and meet Francis alongside Jolie.

Jolie isn’t the first person who hoped to obtain the Vatican’s endorsement for a film in the past year; Russell Crowe tried reaching out to the pope to screen Noah several months ago, and while the actor’s people claim that he briefly met with the pope after his usual Wednesday audience in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican denies such a meeting ever took place.