Directed by Matthew Mishory, the emotional and picturesque documentary film Fioretta is both about a father and son’s incredible search for their family’s ancestry and about how that quest links both the generationally different men - and their heritage - in extraordinary ways.
Mishory's cameras accompany avid genealogist and acclaimed lawyer Randol Schoenberg, who in 2004 represented Austrian refugee Maria Altmann as she sued her homeland's government for ownership of 5 beloved Gustav Klimt paintings that the Nazis robbed from her family before World War II. That case was dramatized in the 2015 film Woman in Gold, with Ryan Reynolds playing Schoenberg and Helen Mirren in the role of Altmann.
Following Randy is his 18-year-old son Joey, a studying chef who prior to journeying with his father has little knowledge of or interest in investigating his family's 500 years-long history.
Their biggest objective: to learn about and discover the final resting place of their oldest relative, Fioretta - the wife of Rabbi Elijah Menachem Halfon, who in the 16th century was one of several rabbis consulted about the divorce between Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
Both descendants of famed classical composer Arnold Schoenberg, Randy and Joey discover some of the most revealing facts about their family's past plus incredible physical evidence of their ancestors’ existence in several centuries-old artifacts during the present-day Schoenbergs’ visits to museums, cemeteries and other landmarks throughout Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy.
Assisted by a knowledgeable and caring collection of local historians and family members, Randy and Joey learn not just about who they are and how their family's heritage has defined them but they also gain something equally valuable: a greater connection to themselves and their roots.
I'm honored to welcome Matthew and Randy to discuss Fioretta now on this week's Viewfinder Podcast.
Find out more about Fioretta here:
https://www.rubberringfilms.com/fioretta
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Music by Audionautix.com
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