Films

To honor its thousand-year-old history in the city of Oporto, the community produced a series of films to highlight the important Jewish presence here. The film scripts were first shown to the Bishop of Oporto. The films have received international awards in more than fifty countries and have received praise from the Pope, who was delighted to hear of the close relationship between the Jewish and Catholic communities of Oporto. The Community also produced an extensive videography.

Sefarad

The film reveals the existence in Portugal of Marranos right in the middle of the 20th century. They were neither Jews nor Christians but both at the same time, living outside the mainstream of both religions.

The Light of Judah

A historical documentary covering centuries of the history of the Jewish community of Oporto from the Middle Ages to the Inquisition, from modernity to the present day.

1618

It is the 17th century, and as the Inquisition continued persecuting Portuguese Jews, the entire population was exhorted to denounce heresies under pain of excommunication.

 

1506 — The Lisbon Genocide

Could a simple reflection of light have been the trigger for one of the most horrific genocides in Europe? In Portugal, ancient myths that linked the Jews to trickery acted as the spark of a bonfire ready to burst into flames. It was ignited on 19 April 1506 in the streets of Lisbon.

 

The 2000 Kidnapped Jewish Children

This 30-minute documentary recounts the tragic fate of Jewish children exiled to a distant and inhospitable island following the Expulsion from Spain in 1492. In the Jewish world, São Tomé became known as I HaTimsahim — “The Island of the Crocodiles.”