• Title:
• A Star Hidden in the Backlands

• Director:
• Elaine Eiger and Luize Valente

• Portuguese

• Brazil, 85 min

• Venue:
• The Avalon

• Purchase Tickets:
• Show 1  

For 300 years, rural Catholic communities in Northeastern regions of Brazil have been practicing unique customs in their homes. They light candles on Friday nights, circumcise their baby sons, and kill their chicken in particular ways startlingly similar to kosher law. What they don’t know is that these customs and traditions are reminiscent of their Jewish ancestors who were forced by the Inquisition to convert to Catholicism. The story of this film follows a young doctor, Luciano Oliveira, a descendant of these “New Christians,” and his journey to reclaim a Jewish identity. He struggles to be accepted and officially recognized by Jewish authorities. In the end, he discovers for himself what it means to be a Jew in the context of his history and the modern world.

Co-sponsored by the Embassy of Brazil
Welcoming Remarks: Murilo Gabrielli, Cultural Attache, Embassy of Brazil Special Guests: Elaine Eiger, director

• Purchase Tickets:
• Show 1