KIDNAPPED: THE ABDUCTION OF EDGARDO MORTARA Luminaries

Bologna, 1858. A well-to-do Jewish family suffers an unfathomable fate when their six-year-old son, Edgardo, is ripped from their arms. Secretly baptized, he must now be raised a Catholic. Under instruction of the Papal State, he is abducted and taken to the Vatican to be put under the care of Pope Pius IX himself. An international scandal ensues as his parents (Fausto Russo Alesi and Barbara Ronchi) desperately fight for the return of their son and the safeguarding of his heritage. Caught in the crossfire of a brewing revolution, the Pope refuses to acquiesce, only fueling the flames of those demanding an end to his theocratic rule. Based on true events, celebrated Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio’s (THE TRAITOR, AFI FEST 2019) riveting portrait of power and faith is a lavishly lensed, heartbreaking melodrama enhanced by flashes of surrealism. –Josh Gardner