“The rest is history” means more to Michael Fraticelli than the average documentary filmmaker. The history he is documenting was inspired by a journal his father kept during World War II. “My father served on a transport in the North African campaign 1942-43. Many of the young inexperienced Navy and Army servicemen aboard this ship would face horrific combat for the first time.”
Even though Michael is not new to filmmaking, he studied through Temple University's Radio/TV/Film Department in 1969-72, he has taken on this particular endeavor for the first time. “I've spent the past few years researching veterans specific to this story from all over the country, gained their trust and friendship, documented their stories, then dealt with personal losses as they passed on. It's all very emotional.”
With a strong “passion to preserve these stories”, Michael took a private experience and turned it into a learning experience. “Many people unconsciously limit their scope of WWII by viewing movies like "Saving Private Ryan", and “Band of Brothers” never getting beyond Normandy. North Africa was part of America's initial entry into the war. This is the focal point of my documentary.”
His goal is to show what other documentaries have left out and to tell the individual stories of the men who lived it. One thing Michael has learned during this filmmaking process was that if he wants to have something done right, he should just do it himself: “I put too much trust into younger filmmakers who I looked to for a reciprocal sharing of passion and accuracy while putting together authentic WWII recreations based on fact. Too many short films are simply spit out repeatedly portraying nothing but fiction regarding WWII. It's unfortunate that some young filmmakers do not have the same respect or interest as my generation for factual stories and sacrifices laid down by these vanishing veterans.”
Naturally, this leads to the one thing he wishes others knew about his field: “The 'History', the 'History' and the 'History'. It's lost to a new generation of gratuitous violence embracing action packed fictional stories of epic proportion.”
To all those “young filmmakers” out there, Michael suggests focusing more on “emotional maturity” than being “an immediate professional.” “Just simply have patience and allow time to learn and trust the person you're working [with]… Be respectful, be patient, listen and take direction while offering suggestions at the same time.”
As to what he thinks about working in Philadelphia, “It's a city of endless valuable history… I was very lucky to connect to a handful of folks in the Philadelphia area who have shown reliability and trust. The greatest asset to me has been the hundreds of reenactors in the area who possess a dedication to history worthy of any PHD.”
Michael plans on submitting this film to various festivals and holding a screening with veterans and honor guard as part of the event. He also has the interest of local networks (PCN and PBS) who may want to air the finished product, which of course he will dedicate to the men who were truly part of the Greatest Generation.
Check out the trailer to learn more about Survivors' Stories.
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