The last marranes

In Portugal, during the Inquisition, 100.000 Jews had to choose: to convert to Catholicism or leave. Many converted but went on practicing Judaism despite of persecutions. They were called “marranos” (“the pigs”) by Christians, and thousands of them were condemned to be burnt at the stake, between 1536 and 1760. The survivors assimilated or choose exile. Nevertheless, the “marranes”, forgotten Jews of Portugal, didn’t disappear: in Belmonte, small village in the mountains of the North-East of the country, few of them are trying to keep their own specificity. For the first time, they agreed to testify in front of a camera.