SHOLEM ALEICHEM: LAUGHING IN THE DARKNESS Comes to DVD Today

A riveting portrait of the world's greatest Yiddish writer whose stories became the basis of the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof, SHOLEM ALEICHEM: LAUGHING IN THE DARKNESS explores the life of the rebellious genius who created an entirely new literature. Plumbing the depths of a Jewish world locked in crisis and on the cusp of profound change, Sholem Aleichem captured that world with brilliant humor. He was not just a witness to the creation of a new modern Jewish identity, but one of the very men who forged it.

Releasing today, March 12 from Docurama Films, a label of Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM), LAUGHING IN THE DARKNESS brings to life Sholem Aleichem's world and his timeless stories through rarely seen photographs, archive footage, voice talent, including Peter Riegert (The Sopranos), Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live) and Jason Kravits (The Adjustment Bureau).

Also featured in the film are interviews with leading experts such as Dan Miron, Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at Columbia University; Ruth Wisse, Professor of Yiddish Literature and Comparative Literature at Harvard University; David Roskies of the Jewish Theological Seminary; author and Yiddish translator Hillel Halkin; Aaron Lansky, the founder of the National Yiddish Book Center; Sheldon Harnick, lyricist of Fiddler on the Roof and Bel Kauffmann, Sholem Aleichem's own granddaughter.

The film explores the history of Jewish culture in Eastern Europe through Sholem Aleichem's works. Excerpts of his stories profiled in the film include: If I Were a Rothschild, Glossary of Stepmother's Curses, The Town of the Little People, The Adventures of Menakhem Mendl, Eternal Life, Letter to America, Tevye the Dairyman, Tales of a Thousand and One Nights, and Motl, The Cantor's Son.

Directed by Joseph Dorman, SHOLEM ALEICHEM: LAUGHING IN THE DARKNESS was released in theaters in July 2011 to rave reviews and was a New York Times and Washington Post Critics' Pick. The film received support from the Righteous Persons' Foundation, the Foundation for Jewish Culture's Lynn and Jules Kroll Fund for Documentary Film, the Herman G. Kaiser Foundation and Daniel and Joanna S. Rose. Its currently 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

"I wanted to use Sholem Aleichem to explore an entire world and felt I could because he managed to embody that world in his work and his life. In fact for many, the very phrase 'the world of Sholem Aleichem' has become shorthand for the nineteenth century world of the shtetl," said Dorman.

SHOLEM ALEICHEM: LAUGHING IN THE DARKNESS is written, produced and directed by Joseph Dorman; edited by Aaron Kuhn, Kenneth Levis and Amanda Zinoman. Bonus features include: making the film; On Sholem Aleichem.

Pricing: $29.95 US/$34.95 CA
Runtime: 93 mins. + extras
Rating: NR
Catalog #: NNVG284351
Language: English and
Color: Color
Audio Format: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Genre: Documentary

About Docurama Films
In 1999, Docurama Films launched with the first feature documentary available on DVD: D.A. Pennebaker's iconic film on Bob Dylan, "Don't Look Back." Twelve years and 300 award-winning, highly-acclaimed documentary titles later, Docurama continues to discover and release the greatest non-fiction films of our time while spreading the word about filmmakers who are taking the form to new heights. Docurama's catalog features an array of topics including the performing and visual arts, history, politics, the environment, ethnic and gender interests, and all-time favorites including "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill," "Andy Goldsworthy: Rivers and Tides" and "King Corn." Recent titles include the Oscar-nominated films "Gasland," "Hell and Back Again" and "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory." www.docuramafilms.com

About Cinedigm
Cinedigm is leading the digital entertainment revolution. Cinedigm's pioneering digital cinema deployment and servicing efforts, and our state of the art distribution and exhibition software, are cornerstones of the digital cinema transformation. Cinedigm is also the leading digital aggregator of independent content in the world, providing end-to-end digital content delivery to theaters, across digital and on-demand platforms, and on DVD/Blu-ray. Through partnerships with iTunes, Netflix, Amazon, Google, Hulu, Vudu, Xbox, Playstation, and others, Cinedigm reaches a global digital audience. The company's library of over 5,000 titles includes award-winning documentaries from Docurama Films, next-gen indies from Flatiron Film Company and acclaimed independent films and festival picks through partnerships with The Sundance Institute and Tribeca Film. Cinedigm is proud to distribute many Oscar-nominated films including "The Invisible War," "Hell and Back Again," "GasLand," "Waste Land" and "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory." Current and upcoming CEG multi-platform releases include "Citadel," "In Our Nature" and "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey." Cinedigm and Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp are trademarks of Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp www.cinedigm.com. [CIDM-G]

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