Never one to shy away from controversial subject matter, the veteran Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio (Fists in the Pocket, The Conviction) here brings to life an unbelievable true story lifted from the pages of a shocking and horrifying history.

The film follows the true story of how a six-year-old Jewish boy, Edgardo Mortara, was taken by the Catholic Church following claims that he was baptized by the family’s maid as a baby. While the distraught Mortara family fight to get him back, they find themselves at the epicentre of a wider historical battle between the forces of Catholic authoritarianism and the growing opposition movement.