Fiddlin’

From their front porches in the Appalachian Mountains, talented musicians and captivating storytellers share a fierce determination to keep Old Time and Bluegrass music alive. Passing this uplifting music from one generation to the next, fiddlers and pickers, young and old, gather for frequent jam sessions without a cell phone in sight.

Fiddlin’, takes place in the majestic Appalachian Mountains documenting the Old Fiddler’s Convention. Celebrating its 80th anniversary and promoting itself as the oldest and largest convention of its kind, fiddlers and pickers travel from around the world to compete.

Fiddlin’ will inspire, educate, and entertain its viewers. Individual musicians and bands compete for blue ribbons and the biggest purse of $700. It is not for cash, but for the pride of their claim to be “the best”. Fiddlin’ captures the distinctive Appalachian music and dancing revealing these mountain musicians’ dedication to culture and traditions. They are deeply committed to keeping the music alive and passing it on to future generations.

More information available on the film’s website, Instagram and Facebook Page.

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JULIE SIMONE, grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains where Fiddlin’ was filmed. Living in
Los Angeles, Julie enrolled in a gorilla style filmmaking class where she wrote, directed, crewed and acted in multiple short films. After motherhood and divorce, she re-embarked on roles behind the camera as well as in front of it. Julie, using only her hand held camera directed, shot, and appeared as herself in Cannes Without A Plan, a reality pilot/feature documenting three women’s impulsive romp to the Cannes Film Festival. A previous collaboration with Jeff Kanew led him to edit and co-produce this comedic, insightful film dealing with divorce, sobriety and being a single mom. Fiddlin’ is Julie’s latest directing endeavor and one that she is most excited about. Julie is also developing and writing projects with Jill Sorensen through their film company, Calamity J Productions.

JILL MAZURSKY, daughter of Paul Mazursky, grew up in a filmmaking family. Her exposure to filmmaking and storytelling makes her an important member of the creative team. She has co-written projects with J.J. Abrams and works at Bad Robot. Recently she executive produced Keep On Keepin’ On, with Quincy Jones, which won numerous awards for both Best Documentary and Audience Award at international film festivals. Jill produced the documentary The Babushkas of Chernobyl and is currently producing on a Showtime documentary titled Bollettieri, about the infamous tennis coach. Jill is a tremendous asset to the Fiddlin’ team.

Julie Simone, Director

Jill Mazursky, Producer