Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara - Portal do Município de Vila Nova de Famalicão - Portugal

Casa das Artes | Small auditorium - 21h45

Entry: 4 euros | Students: 2 euros | Free for Joane Film Club members | Original Title: Rapito (Italy/France/Germany, 2023) | Directed by: Marco Bellocchio | Cast: Enea Sala, Barbara Ronchi, Fausto Russo Alesi, Paolo Pierobon | Rating: M/12 | Running time: 130 min.

Edgardo Mortara was born into a Jewish family in Bologna (Italy) in 1851. After falling ill, a maid, thinking he was on the verge of death, baptised him on the sly. According to the Catholic doctrine of the time, baptism was considered an irrevocable sacrament, making the child part of the Catholic Church. When the Church authorities learnt of this, when he was six years old, they decided that the child had to be taken away from his Jewish family. Edgardo was then forcibly taken from his home and given into the custody of Pope Pius IX and raised as a Catholic. The desperate parents did everything they could to get their son back, appealing to every institution. The case went around the world and caused widespread indignation and protests, with many political leaders, intellectuals and members of the Jewish community opposing the papal decision. Premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, this biographical drama is directed by Italian Marco Bellocchio and tells the true story of Edgardo Mortara (1851-1940).