Conclave' draws the crowds at the Rome Film Festival near the Vatican, but is it too close to the bone for Pope Francis?View on euronews

Based on a bestselling novel by Robert Harris, the Oscar-tipped film imagines what goes on behind the scenes of the secretive process – complete with scheming, smearing and leaking.

With Pope Francis a few weeks away from his 88th birthday, the plotting for his successor is well underway at the Vatican

Berger, whose credits include the Oscar-winning “All Quiet on the Western Front,” described “Conclave” as a “chess game of political intrigue” that could have taken place at a multinational company or in Washington. A top job is open, and people are vying for it. “It just happens to be within the Vatican,” he said.

What happens at the end of Conclave? What is the pope's secret? Is the pope a woman? The stars break down the ending of the pope's gender and explain what it means.

The new film Conclave surrounds the fictional election of a new pope. Here's how the real-life process works, and how accurate the movie is.