Children of the Inquisition
Event Sponsored by Robert Calderisi
-
DateJune 13, 2023
-
Event Starts7:00 PM
-
LocationSheen Center
-
Doors OpenApproximately 30 minutes before showtime.
-
Ticket PricesFree | RSVP Required
-
AvailabilityOn Sale Now
Event Details
Thanks to the generosity of a Sheen Center benefactor, complimentary tickets are available to this event on a first-come, first-served basis. You must RSVP to reserve your seats. No person will be allowed entry to the theater without a ticket.
Children of the Inquisition is a feature length documentary that examines the fascinating and little-known history of the ‘conversos,” Jews who converted to Christianity – many of whom were coerced or forced to flee -- during the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions (1478-1834).
Told through interviews with scholars and actual descendants -- many of whom are just discovering and reconnecting with their ancestral Jewish roots -- the film chronicles the conversos’ complex journeys across continents and oceans with ever-changing names and identities, in what has come to be known as the Sephardic diaspora.
Children of the Inquisition is written, directed and produced by Joseph Lovett.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker, historians and contemporary descendants profiled in the film.
Event Sponsored by Robert CalderisiAbout Joseph Lovett
Joseph Lovett (Writer/Director/Producer), is an award-winning filmmaker who has worked with multiple major networks and produced the first television investigations on AIDS for ABC’s 20/20. As an independent producer and director, he created various feature documentaries, including Going Blind: Coming Out of the Dark About Vision Loss and Something Terrible Happened to Joey, and over 35 hours of prime-time specials. Lovett has been honored with the Peabody Award, AIDS Leadership Award, Christopher Award, Kitty Carlisle Hart Award, numerous other awards from advocacy organizations and an Emmy nomination. Now he serves as the president of A Closer Look, Inc., where he creates new trauma-informed films and distributes them — as well as his old ones — for educational purposes.
About the Panelists
Carlos DeMedeiros is a New York area based artist. Carlos grew up in Brazil, where he spent several years as a seminarian before moving to New York to pursue his art career. Much of his work deals with the issues of identity.
Thomas F. Madden is Professor of History and Director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Saint Louis University. As an author and historical consultant he has appeared in such venues as The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CNN, and The History Channel. Dr. Madden's most recent book is Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World, published by Viking/Penguin.
Reverend Ryan Muldoon, S.T.L. (moderator), was awarded the John Paul II Prize for Catholic-Jewish Studies in January 2022 for his 2020 licentiate thesis, "The Land of Our Fathers in Faith: The Theological Role of the Land of Israel for Contemporary Jewish-Catholic Dialogue."
Ronnie Perelis is the Chief Rabbi Dr. Isaac Abraham and Jelena (Rachel) Alcalay Associate Professor of Sephardic Studies at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and the Director of the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Program for International Affairs at Yeshiva University. He loves exploring the complexity and dynamism of Sephardic history with his graduate and undergraduate students at Yeshiva University. His research investigates connections between Iberian and Jewish culture during the medieval and early modern periods. His essays on Sephardic history analyze the dynamics of religious transformation within the context of the crypto-Jewish experience. His new book, Narratives from the Sephardic Atlantic: Blood and Faith (Indiana University Press) explores family and identity in the Sephardic Atlantic world.