The Last Marranos

SELECTED FESTIVAL SCREENINGS

Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art, 2010
Portland Art Museum, 2005
Brooklyn Museum of Art, 2003
Los Angeles Sephardic Film Festival, 2001
Laemmle Theaters (Los Angeles), 1997
Jewish Film Festival (Amherst, NY), 1996
Seattle Jewish Film Festival, 1995
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1993
Baltimore Museum of Art, 1993
Toronto Jewish Film Festival, 1993
Jewish Women’s Film Festival (NY), 1993
Los Angeles Film Festival, 1993
Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival, 1992

TELEVISION BROADCASTS

KQED, San Francisco
SBS, Australia
ZDF, Germany

In the late fifteenth century, the glory of Sephardic Jewry on the Iberian peninsula came to an end: In 1492, the Jews of Spain were expelled. In 1497, the Jews of Portugal were forcibly converted to Christianity. Now they were subject to the Inquisition's harsh punishment for heresy. Despite the danger, however, many of the converted Jews—called marranos "pigs" by Christians—continued to practice Judaism in secret.

Five centuries later, The Last Marranos takes a fascinating look at the village of Belmonte, Portugal. Its rites and prayers are an amalgam of Christianity and vestiges of Judaism tenaciously preserved through the ages. These traditions bear the scars of history distorted by clandestine practice and couched in symbols of fear. Now, brought into the open and reacquainting itself with mainstream Judaism, the community faces a new challenge.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM

"Generation by generation, the Marranos' closed-door ceremonies became the oral tradition of women rather than men (in opposition to Hebrew custom), with ceremonial rituals handed down from mother to daughter. There is no persecution any more, but, as the film shows, there is still an aura of secrecy about the movement."
-Washington Post

PURCHASE DVD

HOME USE ONLY
$36.00 plus shipping
Home Use Only DVD (Not for Classroom/Institutional Use)

Does not include Public Performance Rights
Home Use Policy (pdf)

INSTITUTIONAL USE

$90.00 plus shipping
Classroom/Institutional Use Only DVD

Does not include Public Performance Rights
Institutional Use Policy (pdf)