1618 (2021)

1618 is a detailed, splendid, richly dramatized and designed historical drama, and its protagonist is the entire Sephardic community of the Portuguese city of Oporto. It is the 17 century (as the name tells us), and as the Inquisition continues to persecute the Portuguese Jews, it sends Visitador Sebastião Noronha to the region. António Álvares, a family man and a member of his community, will become the biggest obstacle to Noronha’s actively Antisemitic plans. Álvares will do it not by fighting evil with evil, but by creating an escape plan for all those who are in danger because of who they are. 1618 is the important labour of the Portuguese Sephardic community, which turned its past into a gripping historical film — and the pace of its narration has an elusive resemblance to the Turkish television series Magnificent Century — which is, of course, a compliment. The team behind 1618 has also created the film Sefarad, which took part in the Main Competition of the Moscow Jewish Film Festival in 2019.