Set in the 1840s, The Governess centers on Rosina da Silva, the sophisticated eldest daughter of a wealthy Jewish Italian family living in a small enclave of Sephardic Jews in London. When her father is murdered on the street and leaves behind numerous debts, she refuses an arranged marriage to an older suitor. She uses her classical education and advertises her services as a governess, assuming the identity of  “Mary Blackchurch,” a Protestant of Italian descent, in order to conceal her heritage. Rosina accepts a position as governess for a Scottish family living on the remote Isle of Skye in the Hebrides.

Presented by The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life and the Townsend Center for the Humanities as part of the Depth of Field 2015-2016 Seminar Series: Sephardic Identities on Screen.