eSefarad Noticias del Mundo Sefaradi
Last night in Miami Florida at the Jewish Film festival I had the honor to be present at the global premiere of the movie Sefarad directed by Luis Ismael. This incredible well documented movie went directly to the core of who I am as a direct descendant of the Portuguese Jews.
The Director did a brilliant job in conveying the raw emotions that coursed through Portugal not only in the times of the Crypto Jews but during the Nazi regime and through modern times.
Following the life of Captain Arturo de Barros Basto, the story is told of the Portuguese version of the Dreyfus case.
The intensity of the worship of the villagers in Northern Portugal left many in the audience wondering how Jews could have survived in the mountains of North Portugal for hundreds of years.
It was in the Braganza region of Portugal that my ancestors came from and when those villagers hidden in modern times and hiding in the mountains raised their palms to pray to Adonai, the scene was electrifying.
Captain de Barros Basto was an army Captain who was stripped of his uniform as a result of his work with the Crypto Jews.
The movie ends when Captain de Barros Basto is finally defeated emotionally and physically and he passes to his granddaughter, Isabel, the baton to clear his name.
Isabel takes this mission on very seriously through her life and only several years ago was able to clear his name in a much-publicized trial.
Two years ago, I had the stellar opportunity of being with Isabel his granddaughter and I hear and saw the entore story through her eyes in Porto where the family always lived. Seeing the story on the big screen was incredible.
The movie is 90 minutes long and in Portuguese which was pretty easy to follow if you spoke Spanish and had English subtitles. After the film, I interviewed the Director, Luis Ismael, as well as Dara and Dale Jeffries representing the community of Porto. An incredible treat ! This is a not to be missed movie.
Fuente: eSefarad.com
