Meet Asher Schwartz, the director behind a new animated Yiddish film The Fiddle, a prequel to Fiddler On The Roof, narrated by actor Mike Burstyn.
JewishPress.com interviewed Asher Schwartz, cartoonist animator, director, and our very own JewishPress.com cartoonist. His animated film, The Fiddle, is currently making its way around film festivals worldwide.
Narrated by the renowned Yiddish theater and Broadway actor, Mike Burstyn, The Fiddle, based on the works of Sholem Aleichem, tells the childhood story of the fiddler from the famous Broadway show and award-winning film, Fiddler On The Roof. In true dedication to the authenticity of Shalom Aleichem’s infamous style, Schwartz made a bold choice to narrate the film in a traditional and beloved language — Yiddish.
What made you decide to create a prequel to such an iconic film such as Fiddler On The Roof?
During my animation studies at Sapir College in Southern Israel, I happened across a collection of short stories by Sholem Aleichem, translated to English. I was immediately swept up into the ironic, dark, and oh-so-Yiddishkeit universe of Sholem Aleichem.
I was most intrigued by one particular short story called “The Fiddle” about a young boy named Sholom who longs for nothing more than to play the fiddle. However, his father, a more traditional Jew, will not allow music to interfere with Sholom’s Torah studies and shidduch propositions. The description of Sholom’s lust for music was described so poetically and emotionally in the book, that I could already envision it in animation form.
Shalom Aleichem also wrote the short stories on which Fiddler On The Roof is based. Since the fiddler from Fiddler On The Roof is such an anonymous character, it occurred to me that Sholom’s story could be the childhood of the fiddler on the roof. Exploring such a mysterious character really excited me. That’s when I knew this was my movie.
Were you worried about how the Yiddish narration would be received by audiences?
The decision to narrate the film in Yiddish was a natural one. Firstly, Sholem Aleichem wrote most of his books in Yiddish, including the short story “The Fiddle”, of which my animated film is based on. Sticking to the original language showed respect to the source material.
Secondly, my producer, Ziv Meron Hadad, and I quickly discovered through some research that Yiddish is not an extinct language as many believe. On the contrary, it is currently thriving in its own niche, but widespread, community. The fact that there is a group on Facebook called “Yiddish For Hipsters” with over 2,000 members speaks for itself.
The Beit Sholem Aleichem Museum in Tel Aviv is one of many schools dedicated not only to preserving the Yiddish language but to teaching it as well. Their full classes and fully-booked monthly cabarets can attest to the language’s presence still today. I was lucky enough to have Beit Shalom Aleichem support my film.
Tell us a bit about working with Mike Burstyn on the narration.
Mike Burstyn currently lives in the States, so calling him up and asking him to work on this project was mostly wishful thinking. To my luck, Mike was planning a trip to Israel to attend the premiere of his directorial debut, a film by the name of Azimuth. He offered to meet at a studio in Israel to record the narration. I was truly honored that a respected actor such as Mike would be willing to work with a young film student.
I’ll admit I was pretty nervous given the contrast in our ages and experience levels, but the moment we entered the recording studio, Mike made it clear that he is an actor, I am the director, and I am in charge. I watched in awe as Mike brought my script to life with such grace. Listening to him read the words in Yiddish liberated me of any hesitations I had regarding the Yiddish narration. As someone who doesn’t speak Yiddish, I could suddenly appreciate the tone and the music the sentences created when said aloud.
What was your inspiration for the art and music of the film?
The soundtrack to Fiddler On The Roof is so memorable and influential. I mean, who doesn’t find themselves humming “If I Were A Rich Man” during tax season? So, the musician and sound designer for The Fiddle, Nikki Semenov, had quite an act to follow.
Since the film is about Sholom’s love for the fiddle, I knew there would be no compromising on the music. When it came time to find a fiddler to play the original music, I did plenty of research. I came across Oren Tsor, a world-renowned violinist who has performed with some of the biggest names in the industry. Watching Oren perform the music Nikki had written was the closest I got to feeling the passion Sholom felt towards the fiddle.
As for the visuals, it was important for me to incorporate the style of Marc Chagall in my film as he was an inspiration to the play and film, Fiddler on the Roof. This is evident in the bold color palettes I used. For example, Sholom’s house is blue, like Marc Chagall’s famous “The Blue House” painting. There may also be two Marc Chagall paintings within the film itself, but I’ll leave that to the attentive viewers to find for themselves.
What are you hoping the viewers of this film will take away from it?
Throughout the making of the film, when I would tell my friends about the Yiddish narration, their responses were usually something to the tune of “Wow, my Bubby is going to love it!”
That irked me since I was hoping my film would appeal to an international audience.
While I was editing the sound for the film later in the production process, the sound-mixer, a secular young Tel Aviv resident, said to me “You took a subject that on paper seems boring and outdated and turned it into something really cool!” The thought that I could turn a “boring” language and period — which is such an important part of Jewish culture — into something relevant and relatable excites me.
So what’s next?
Ah, the question of all questions. I am planning to develop a series of short films based on the works of famous Jewish authors. I look forward to seeing where each new project brings me. But as the Yiddish saying goes: “Kainer vaist nit vemes morgen es vet zein.” (No one knows what the morrow will bring).
For more information and updates on screenings of The Fiddle:
Asher Schwartz can be reached at: [email protected]
You can follow The Fiddle on Facebook
Check out more of Asher Schwartz’s work at: asherdesign.myportfolio.com