FIDDLER Doc Coming This Summer with Sheldon Harnick, Hal Prince, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Original Cast Members

Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films have co-acquired worldwide rights to Max Lewkowicz's FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES. The documentary tells the story behind one of Broadway's most beloved musicals, Fiddler on The Roof and its creative roots in early 1960s New York.

The film includes interviews with the show's Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick, legendary producer Hal Prince, original cast members, such as Austin Pendleton, as well as rare archival footage of renowned choreographer Jerome Robbins.

Further insights into the play's legacy and enduring influence come from new interviews with Broadway luminaries and cultural influencers including Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chaim Topol, Harvey Fierstein as well as famed authors Fran Lebowitz, Calvin Trillin and Nathan Englander. Roadside and Goldwyn will release FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES in theatres this summer.

Opening in 1964, Fiddler on the Roof held the record for the longest-running musical for almost 10 years. The legendary play won nine Tony Awards, and has spawned five Broadway revivals. Based on the stories of Yiddish author and playwright Sholem Aleichem, it is among the most well-known and beloved musicals in the world. It tells the story of Tevye the Milkman and his struggle to find grooms for his five daughters under the oppression of Czarist Russia and the early-20th-century pogroms threatening the Jewish community and the mythical village of Anatevka. Few, however, understand the context against which the show was created, during another time and place of tremendous social change: the creative and intellectual milieu of 1960's New York. It was a time when virtually every aspect of society was being questioned, including gender roles, sexuality, race relations, and the role of religion in public life. The show's creators were themselves questioning what has become the musical's most important and memorable theme: tradition.

For the first time, intimate interviews with the show's creators reveal how the tremendous success and worldwide impact of Fiddler and its subsequent film adaptation is most appropriately viewed through the lens of the social upheaval and change in mid-20th century America. Yet, as the film shows, the true wonder of wonders and miracle of Fiddler is that audiences world-wide and for the last half century claim the story as their own. The documentary explores a variety of international productions of the show, detailing how individuals of many cultures see themselves in the residents of Anatevka. The film includes major worldwide productions from Canada, The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, as well as the last Broadway production revival with Danny Burstein and Jessica Hecht.

FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES was directed by Max Lewkowicz and co-written with Valerie Thomas. The film was produced by Lewkowicz, Valerie Thomas, Ann Oster, Rita Lerner, and Patti Kenner.

"Fiddler is a show very near to our hearts," said Roadside Attractions founders Howard Cohen and Eric d'Arbeloff, "and this film is a must-see for anyone who loves this show and wants to better understand why it remains such a worldwide phenomenon, inspiring countless student and professional productions and generations of performers."

"Fiddler is a show with themes that remain hugely relevant today," says Peter Goldwyn of Samuel Goldwyn Films. "This documentary offers profound insight into the historical and cultural movements that inspired Fiddler as well as its enduring appeal around the world."

The deal was negotiated by Peter Goldwyn of Samuel Goldwyn Films, Angel An from Roadside Attractions, and Adam J. Greene on behalf of the filmmakers.

ABOUT ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

Since its founding in 2003, ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS' films have grossed over $300M and garnered nineteen Academy Award® nominations. Roadside Attractions released the #1 independent film of 2018, the faith-based I Can Only Imagine, which grossed $83.5M. The company has released such critical and commercial hits as MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, BEN IS BACK, BEATRIZ AT DINNER, WHITNEY, STRONGER, LOVE & FRIENDSHIP, HELLO MY NAME IS DORIS, MR. HOLMES, LOVE & MERCY, A MOST WANTED MAN, DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, THE SKELETON TWINS, ALL IS LOST, MUD, WINTER'S BONE, THE COVE, ARBITRAGE, MARGIN CALL, and SUPER-SIZE ME. Its upcoming slate includes the highly-anticipated Judy Garland biopic JUDY, starring Academy Award winner Renee Zellweger, and TRIAL BY FIRE, directed by Ed Zwick and starring Jack O'Connell and Laura Dern, which tells the true story of the unlikely bond between a wrongfully-convicted DEATH ROW inmate and a mother of two from Houston as they fight mightily for his freedom.

ABOUT Samuel Goldwyn FILMS

Samuel Goldwyn Films is a major, independently-owned and -operated motion-picture company that develops, produces, and distributes innovative feature films and documentaries. The company is dedicated to working with both world-renowned and emerging writers/filmmakers and committed to filmed entertainment that offers original voices in uniquely told stories. This is best exemplified by the Academy Award® nominated SUPER SIZE ME; Sundance winner GOOK written and directed by Justin Chon; the critically acclaimed feature debut by Francis Lee GOD'S OWN COUNTRY; SXSW winner MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND; the high-school drama BLAME directed, written, and starring Quinn Shephard; LGBTQ musical drama SATURDAY CHURCH; ALLURE starring Evan Rachel Wood; Warwick Thornton's Australian western SWEET COUNTRY starring Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, and Hamilton Morris; the Wim Wenders film, starring James McAvoy and Academy Award winner® Alicia Vikander, SUBMERGENCE; THE FAMILY film ZOO; NANCY, a psychological thriller starring Andrea Riseborough; COLD SKIN from director Xavier Gens; and A BOY A GIRL A DREAM starring Omari Hardwick and Meagan Good. Upcoming releases include Ondi Timoner's bio-pic MAPPLETHORPE starring Matt Smith, Russia's historic drama SOBIBOR, Joseph Cross' directorial debut SUMMER NIGHT, and the Karen Gillan & David Dastmalchian lead film ALL CREATURES HERE BELOW.

Image courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films