Business & Finance Club Magazine - Art & Culture: Blockbuster Hollywood films such as The Da Vinci Code, and its prequel, Angels and Demons, have often fallen foul of the Vatican in recent years. Now a new movie looks set to spark anger in the Holy See due to its depiction of a female pontiff.

Pope Joan, based on American novelist Donna Woolfolk Cross's book of the same name, stars German actor Johanna Wokalek as the titular character, with Lord of the Rings' David Wenham as the lover who supposedly brought her to Rome, and US actor John Goodman as Pope Sergius. The film is based on persistent rumours – denied by the Roman Catholic Church and, to be fair, the majority of historians – that a female pope existed in the ninth century. She was said to have disguised herself as a man and risen to the favour of the previous pope due to her great learning and intellect. But after a reign of several years, she gave birth to a baby during a papal procession and was torn apart by an angry mob.

Pope Joan, directed by the German film-maker Sönke Wortmann, is currently riding high at the Italian box office, sitting in the top 10 behind Sex and the City 2 and Robin Hood. It has already premiered in Germany, and there are plans for a UK release later this year.

The legend of Pope Joan first appeared in the 13th century, and subsequently spread across Europe, though historians now believe the story became popular through later, anti-Catholic propaganda. There are, however, a number of factors that are advanced by proponents of the story to suggest that a female pope really did exist. Firstly, they point to the existence of a wooden chair with a hole in the base, the sella stercoraria, which it is claimed was used during papal investiture ceremonies to ensure potential pontiffs were male. The chair is now kept in the Vatican museum. Secondly, the route between the Basilica of St John Lateran and St Peter's in Rome, where Joan was supposedly unmasked, was traditionally avoided by popes from the 13th century onwards, possibly in deference to the legend.