Fioretta

Genealogy, music, food, diasporic Jewish history, father-son bonding, compelling travels in the most beautiful cities of Europe: this delightful documentary film traces the search for the grave of a family's oldest known ancestor, the elusive "Fioretta." The search takes us through locales both elegant and humble in Vienna, Prague, Venice and elsewhere, into crumbling, sprawling, aging cemeteries, family homes, and historical archives, all framed by a poignant father-son connection with a few tangential sidetrips into food, tailoring, and music. The protagonists are the grandson and great-grandson of renowned musician Arnold Schoenberg. So, this family is perhaps a bit more notable historically than many, but Randy Schoenberg's relentless devotion to documenting his family history is an inspiration to us all, especially to those of us who toy around with family-history. Bravo, well done.