“Emerging from the Shadows: Rediscovering the Legacies of Weinberg & Korngold,” the documentary from U.S.-German filmmaker Veronika Emily Pohl, has been named an official selection of the Newport Beach Film Festival. The film will screen on Oct. 18 as part of the festival’s program.
Produced by Bernhard Fleischer Moving Images GmbH (BFMI), “Emerging from the Shadows” examines the artistic legacies of two historically underrecognized composers whose lives were shaped by displacement, persecution, survival and artistic reinvention: Mieczysław Weinberg and Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
The film follows cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper and four-time GRAMMY-nominated conductor Constantine Orbelian as they join the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra in Lithuania for a program of works by Weinberg and Korngold. Blending concert performance, archival storytelling, personal reflection and historical context, the documentary brings renewed attention to music that speaks across generations.
The featured repertoire includes Weinberg’s Cello Concerto in C minor, Op. 43 and Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 52, as well as Korngold’s Cello Concerto in C Major, Op. 37. Korngold’s concerto reflects the composer’s artistic return to his Viennese roots following his career in Hollywood, where he won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and helped define the emotional, symphonic language of early film music.
Though their paths unfolded differently, Weinberg and Korngold shared a Jewish heritage and endured the devastating consequences of World War II. Weinberg escaped to Moscow after his family was murdered in the Holocaust, while Korngold fled Vienna and found refuge in the United States, ultimately transforming the sound of Hollywood through his sweeping, operatic musical voice. Their stories and the music they created in the wake of exile form the emotional core of “Emerging from the Shadows.”
“To perform this music is to enter a conversation with history,” says Cooper. “Weinberg and Korngold each transformed personal and collective tragedy into work of remarkable beauty, intimacy and strength. I am honored that ‘Emerging from the Shadows’ will screen at the Newport Beach Film Festival, where their stories can resonate beyond the concert hall and remind us that music has the power to preserve memory and create connection.”
Pohl, whose music-centered documentary work includes projects for ZDF/Arte, SONY Classical and Deutsche Grammophon, describes the project as “a journey through artistry, history and identity—honoring two composers whose voices refused to vanish.”
“Music has a profound ability to connect and heal. I hope this film can foster understanding and allow for human connection in the here and now,” says Pohl.
As “Emerging from the Shadows: Rediscovering the Legacies of Weinberg & Korngold” continues its awards-season campaign, the film is being positioned for consideration by industry organizations, including the Critics Choice Association, Realscreen Awards and the GRAMMY Awards.
The documentary’s Newport Beach Film Festival selection follows other international appearances for the project, including its Eastern European festival debut at the seventh edition of Music Dance Screenings Film Festival Consonance in Tbilisi, Georgia, being shortlisted for the Screen International Global Production Awards at Cannes and an industry screening at the Directors Guild of America Theater in New York City earlier this year. It has since received multiple awards.
Critic Jeffrey Lyons described it on Lyons Den Radio as “a beautiful documentary about two great composers of classical music forced to flee Hitler,” adding that “even if you're not a fan of classical music, ‘Emerging from the Shadows’ is a treat for your ears.”
The companion album, Hidden Legacies, featuring Cooper and Orbelian with the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra performing the film’s repertoire, was released by Delos.
Screening information:
Film: “Emerging from the Shadows: Rediscovering the Legacies of Weinberg & Korngold”
Festival: Newport Beach Film Festival
Where: Triangle, Screen 3, 1870 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92627
When: Oct. 18, 3:30 p.m. PDT
For tickets, visit: https://nbff2026.eventive.org/schedule/6aa2f6e5b59d6eb75f0f6c4b
To watch the official trailer, visit: https://youtu.be/4SK_iHOXCTY?si=ivmsYt-uhG9VGK9U