The Florence Foster Jenkins Story

Broadcast partners include: ZDF/ARTE, SRF, ORF, NRK, SVT

From the 1920’s onwards Foster Jenkins’ public performances were events that drew huge crowds who were treated to singing that was so awful it became compelling. Jenkins’ 1944 sold-out Carnegie Hall recital remains one of the legendary nights of this great house.

The Florence Foster Jenkins Story examines the enigma and the woman behind this aural assault on the public. Taking on the challenge of portraying the flamboyant ‘queen of dissonance’ is opera superstar Joyce DiDonato making her cinematic debut. The casting of a great opera singer in the title role makes it possible for the film to contrast two different musical worlds: the music Florence Foster Jenkins wanted to hear and claimed to make, melodious and masterful – and… the reality of the sounds she subjected her audience to.

The documentary features renowned experts in the field and also New Yorkers who remember seeing Jenkins perform. The Florence Foster Jenkins Story also presents archival discoveries—private, previously unpublished photos as well as original audio recordings. These findings gradually expose the scandal and mystery that dogged her life.

With its entertaining pacing and glamorous visual language, punctuated with irreverent digs at the hypocrisy of the establishment, the film immerses viewers into Florence Foster Jenkins’ bizarre world and tells the affecting story of this rebel, eccentric, and unwitting icon of camp.