Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness

Sholem Aleichem:
Laughing in the Darkness
Film poster
Directed byJoseph Dorman
Written byJoseph Dorman
Narrated byAlan Rosenberg
Music byJohn Zorn
Release date
  • 8 July 2011 (2011-07-08)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryUnited States

Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness is an American biographical documentary film about Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem, who is best known for his stories about Tevye the Dairyman, the basis for the musical Fiddler on the Roof. The film uses historical photographs, film, and audio, as well as analysis by scholars and excerpts from his work read in Yiddish, to document the writer's life and the shtetl and Lower East Side lifestyles that influenced him. It was released on 8 July 2011 to positive reviews, and is one of only a small number of works with a 100% rating at the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.