Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Arts myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.When the documentarian David Modigliani was five years old, his grandfather Franco Modigliani was awarded a Nobel Prize. Franco, who died in 2003 aged 85, was an Italian economist and professor hailed for his pioneering research in economic theory. The prize — a gold medallion with Alfred Nobel’s face on it — is now stored at David’s father’s house. But there is more to Franco’s story than a prestigious award, as revealed in Modigliani’s compelling and cinematic new podcast Pack One Bag. A family biography of sorts, it began life as a single-episode project called Shalom, Amore, which won the Jury Award for Nonfiction Audio at the 2023 Tribeca Festival. Now expanded to 10 episodes, it’s an epic tale spanning generations and continents and taking in love, war, fascism, a dramatic escape and a family torn apart. While Franco was alive, his grandson had always meant to record his story, though, much to his regret, they never found the time. Nonetheless, Franco and his wife Serena, who met when they were in their teens, left behind a vast archive of letters, photographs and personal diaries. In this collection, Modigliani makes some remarkable discoveries. There are the love letters Franco wrote to Serena as a young man: when the couple first met, she instructed him to wait three months before seeing her again, during which he wrote a letter to her every day. There are also missives from two US presidents — Carter and Clinton — paying tribute to Franco’s professional achievements. Most startlingly, there is a letter from Benito Mussolini. Before Il Duce embarked on a political career, he was a journalist who founded a socialist newspaper. Modigliani’s great-grandfather on his grandmother’s side, Giulio Calabi, had begun a publishing business after the first world war, and agreed to assist Mussolini in his new enterprise by distributing his paper. Had he declined to do that, would the course of history have been different? Perhaps not, but the fact of Modigliani’s great-grandfather’s connection with the future dictator remains a clear cause for discomfort. There is another unexpected appearance here: that of actor Stanley Tucci, who plays the part of Giulio in dramatised segments that give voice to Modigliani’s forebears. In lesser hands, these segments might have felt awkward and superfluous, but are in fact humanising and evocative. The series goes on to document the changing political winds in Italy and the racial laws imposed by Mussolini curbing the freedoms of Italian Jews. These prompted Giulio to put plans in motion for his and his family’s escape.As Modigliani makes clear at the start, his family’s story remains relevant as people and groups around the world face persecution and seek to start new lives elsewhere. It’s no wonder he and Tucci are working on developing the story for the screen. Theirs is a remarkable tale of tragedy and survival, told with eloquence and style.lemonadamedia.com/show/pack-one-bag
