Kidnapped
Based on incredible true events, this gripping historical drama from master auteur Marco Bellocchio (The Traitor IFF20, Vincere IFF09) follows the story of a young boy whose abduction from his parents by the Vatican fuelled outrage in 19th Century Italy and triggered a global scandal.
1858, the Jewish quarter of Bologna. The Pope’s soldiers burst into the home of the bourgeois Mortara family: by order of the cardinal (Filippo Timi, also in The Eight Mountains). Unbeknownst to his parents, Edgardo was secretly baptised by his nurse as a baby, so they have come to take six-yearold Edgardo to Rome to receive a Catholic education as per papal law.
Seven-time winner at the 2023 Nastri D’Argento Awards, Bellochio’s powerful and operatic new film probes historical antisemitism and the arbitrary exercises of influence by the pre-unification Church. Since its lauded Cannes debut, Kidnapped has reignited debate in Italy, where the actions of Pope Pius IX – who was beatified in the year 2000 – have never been officially condemned.
DIRECTOR: MARCO BELLOCCHIO
With a prolific 50-year career, Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor Marco Bellocchio is known for The Traitor (IFF20), Good Morning, Night (2003), Vincere (2009) and Fists in the Pocket (1965). In 2011, Bellocchio was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice International Film Festival.