Fiddlin'

Fiddlin’ is a passion project and my feature directorial debut. My sister and I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains surrounded by Old Time and Bluegrass music and wanted to share the beauty of this place along with the special people and their unique stories. Our production group and crew consisted of many talented individuals with a focus on the inclusion of women. As a result, nine of our 13 producers are women as well as our editor. We also selected rising female talent in this musical genre since they are often overlooked in this male dominated industry. The resulting cast is a diverse group of musicians by gender, age and ethnicity. When we first approached the talent, many were apprehensive about being part of the project. However, once they discovered we were locals, attitudes completely changed. My mission as a director was to reassure our talent that the film would be a positive and uplifting story that was respectful of the area's culture and traditions. It was also important to reveal that stereotypes are just that and that these people are not only talented, but intelligent, humble and incredibly generous. Having gained their trust, I believe we succeded in achieving that goal. Unlike many documentaries, Fiddlin’ focuses on what is good and on what this community is doing right. These incredible musicians share their talents in an effort to continue long standing musical traditions as they come together to play and pass them on without regard to age, color, gender or social standing.