LOS ANGELES — It’s fair to say E. Randol Schoenberg is a family man, but it goes way beyond his own family. He’s been obsessed with genealogy since he was a kid growing up in Brentwood.

He and his son Joey, 18, are the subjects of a new documentary called “Fioretta,” where the two journeys through Europe to reclaim 500 years of Jewish family history.

“In this film, we trace our lineage back through my grandfather, Arnold Schoenberg and his mother all the way back generation, generation, generation until we get to Venice, Italy,” E. Randol said. “And we go in search for some remnant, some sign of the family in Venice.”

Joey says when his father first asked him to go on this family quest, he wasn’t so sure.

“I was like, ‘That sounds so boring, but I would love to go to Europe,’” he said.

But over the course of the film, his views change.

“You learn so much about yourself from your family, where you come from, where your quirks are,” Joey said. “If everyone knew where they came from, it would be a lot easier to decide where you want to go.”

One of the overarching themes of “Fioretta” is the idea that you never truly die if you are remembered, a concept that is celebrated across many cultures, but especially in Judaism following the Holocaust.

“It’s an act of defiance and memory at the same time to record what we can about these people,” E. Randol said, adding that we’re all a result of history, and each new person on the tree opens up new avenues of research and discovery. 

“Fioretta” won best cinematography, best screenplay and best producing at the 2023 DocLA Film Festival.

“The reason you’re here today is because people, many, many people who were alive 500 years ago, made it through whatever trials and tribulations were presented to them,” E. Randol said.

E. Randol is also a registered volunteer for Geni.com, based in Burbank. The site relies on crowdsourcing to create one shared global family tree. It has almost 15 million users, and E. Randol has helped contribute more than 200,000 names. The site’s general manager, Mike Stangel, says DNA testing kits have helped drive renewed interest in genealogy. The site typically sees a spike through the holidays, but the pandemic led to double-digit growth as more people stayed home.

“It’s almost a universal activity among humans,” said Stangel. “You have to look far and wide to find any culture that does not place value on learning about its ancestors.”

E. Randol’s advice is: The sooner you can start, the better. And just do the best you can.

“I think the mistake some people make is they only become interested after everybody else dies, and they realize they’re the last one,” he said. “And that becomes a more difficult task.”

Much like the film, E. Randol says genealogy is an adventure, a mix of treasure hunting and detective work.

“I’m piecing together new information that other people can learn from and that’s very fulfilling for me,” he said.

E. Randol hopes the film inspires people to trace their own family histories to see what wonders await them.

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