Film Screening – The Levys of Monticello

Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello residence stands as a complex and paradoxical symbol of democracy. Designed by Jefferson, built and tended by enslaved people, the palatial Virginia plantation was presidential retreat, retirement home, and Jefferson’s final resting place.

After it was sold due to mounting debts, Uriah Phillips Levy—a Jewish naval officer and fervent believer in Jeffersonian ideals—became its unlikely owner, restoring and saving the estate from ruin with the help of his family. The story behind this national treasure confronts the racism and anti-Semitism that remain part of the national narrative.

Both screenings are followed by a conversation with director Steven Pressman.

Presented in partnership with The Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum and The Davis Center for Social Justice at Temple Sinai.

Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello residence stands as a complex and paradoxical symbol of democracy. Designed by Jefferson, built and tended by enslaved people, the palatial Virginia plantation was presidential retreat, retirement home, and Jefferson’s final resting place.

After it was sold due to mounting debts, Uriah Phillips Levy—a Jewish naval officer and fervent believer in Jeffersonian ideals—became its unlikely owner, restoring and saving the estate from ruin with the help of his family. The story behind this national treasure confronts the racism and anti-Semitism that remain part of the national narrative.

Both screenings are followed by a conversation with director Steven Pressman.

Presented in partnership with The Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum and The Davis Center for Social Justice at Temple Sinai.