thursday, March 21 / 6:30 pm / ByTowne Cinema

Program: Father Archie, Kidnapped

This program is presented in partnership with the Embassy of Italy.

Feature presentation \

religion \ identity \ justice

Since his arrival in the mid-1960s with his daring debut, Fists In The Pocket, Marco Bellochio has fashioned one of the most arresting, controversial, and accomplished bodies of work in Italian cinema history. At age 84, he continues to examine and confront complex, problematic aspects of Italian history and society. A handsome historical drama based on true events, Kidnapped is the story of Edgardo Mortara, a Jewish boy abducted from his family by the church by Papal order in Bologna in 1858. Allegedly baptized in secret as a baby by the family’s maid who feared for his soul should he fall ill and die Jewish, Edgardo’s story unfolds as he struggles with his dual identity and witnesses his anguished parents struggling to have their son returned. Edgardo’s status soon generates outrage from the international Jewish community as well as many Italian liberals. Caught in the middle of these imposing forces as he grows into adulthood, Edgardo will face a series of impossible choices. “Awash in painterly chiaroscuro, nodding to the masterworks of Caravaggio and Delacroix, the film uses light and shadow to convey the tenebrous, baroque drama of the events — whether Edgardo’s inner turmoil or the country’s momentous unrest as it marched toward unification.” Andrea Picard (TIFF).

- Tom McSorley

Short film \

Father Archie

2023 / 5 minutes / Nova Scotia
Director: Todd Fraser
Language: English

Blending decaying 16mm imagery with oral history, Todd Fraser’s grandfather recounts the story of Father Archie, the local parish priest, in this experimental reflection on post-memory.

This program is presented in partnership with the Embassy of Italy and community partner, the Italian Contemporary Film Festival.