Matthew Mishory Talks Doc ‘Fioretta’ Following L.A. Lawyer E. Randol Schoenberg’s Exploration Of 500 Years Of Jewish Family History In Europe – DOC LA
24.10.2023 - 19:47
/ deadline.com
L.A. lawyer E. Randol Schoenberg is best known internationally for his work recovering art stolen by the Nazi during the Holocaust, with his most famous case being that of ‘Maria Altmann versus Austria’ in 2004, involving five Gustav Klimt paintings.
Ryan Reynolds played his character in the 2015 feature retelling of the story Woman in Gold, alongside a cast also featuring Katie Holmes, Helen Mirren and Daniel Brühl.
Behind the scenes, Schoenberg is also a keen genealogist and his quest to trace his family history in Europe is equally compelling.
American-Israeli filmmaker Matthew Mishory’s documentary Fioretta follows Schoenberg as he and his 18-year son embark on a road trip, which knits together the lawyer’s research of the last 30 years, working backwards from his grandfather, the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, who emigrated to the U.S. from Austria in 1933 after being targeted by the Nazi Party.
The journey takes them across Europe to culminate in the Jewish cemetery on the Venice Lido, with the spectator introduced to a roster of otherworldly family members and custodians of Jewish history along the way.
Mishory’s previous credits include short film Delphinium: A Childhood Portrait of Derek Jarman; Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean; Absent, exploring the forgotten massacre in 1941 of the Jewish community in his ancestral home of Mărculeşti in Moldova; Artur Schnabel: No Place Of Exile and Who Are The Marcuses?.
Fioretta premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival in September and made its European premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on October. It was set to screen at the Anu Museum in Tel Aviv on October 8 but the event was called off due to the Hamas terror attacks the previous day. The film