Fiddlin'

The filmmakers, Julie Simone and Vicki Vlasic, were sisters who grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. They attended the Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax, VA as youngsters. They traveled back to their mountain home to shoot the music documentary with their nieces and nephews pitching in as crew. Their mom cooked for everyone and their dad set up camp. It was a passion project made possible by the Galax Moose Lodge, who sponsor the 85 year old music gathering, as well as the incredible musical talent of this amazing mountain community. Jill Mazursky, an award winning documentary producer, and the daughter of the acclaimed Director/Writer Paul Mazursky was one of the producers on Fiddlin'. Jill's mother Betsy was originally from Kentucky and after hearing about the concept, Betsy encouraged Jill to get involved exclaiming "I love bluegrass music and flatfoot dancing!" Julie Simone, the Director, while scouting the Galax Fiddler's Convention grounds for setting up shots, tripped over the 11 year old guitar prodigy Presley Barker and asked if he would be interested in being part of the documentary. He and Wayne Henderson, Presley's mentor, and a renowned luthier who made a guitar for Eric Clapton, became the central focus of Fiddlin'.