Blue Alchemy: Stories of Indigo
Produced & Directed by Mary Lance
Documentary: 79 minutes Released: 2011
Closed Captioned
DVD: ISBN: 978-1-878917-17-1
Prices: Home Video: $29.95 Classroom/Institution: $99.00
Blue Alchemy: Stories of Indigo on Facebook
What is indigo? It is a blue dye that has been in use worldwide for millennia; a vibrant color laden with symbolic meaning; a commodity that was once central to international trade and colonial economies; and the reason blue jeans are blue.
BLUE ALCHEMY is a feature length documentary that explores the history and reveals the beauty and importance of indigo, weaving together stories about textiles and culture and interviews with artists, artisans, and historians.
BLUE ALCHEMY is also about remarkable people around the globe who are using indigo in projects that are intended to improve life in their communities, preserve cultural integrity, and bring beauty to the world. The processes of making indigo dye from plants and of dyeing with indigo are described.
Major Funding: Patricia McFate; Avenir Foundation; The Coby Foundation.
Film Festivals:
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, Washington, DC, 2013
International Festival of Films on Art, Montreal 2012
Virginia Film Festival, 2012
St. John's International Women's Film Festival, 2012
Silver City Film Festival, 2011 (Audience Award).
Selected Screenings: (For more information, see News and Events page).
Broadway Theatre, Saskatoon, SK
Astro 3 Theatre, Marysville, Kansas, January 8, 12, 15, 22, and 29, 2013.
Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center, October 26, 2012
International Quilt Study Center and Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska, October 19, 2012
Maiwa Textile Symposium, Vancouver, BC, October 10, 2012
Harwood Museum of Art, October 6, 2012
Textile Society of America biennial symposium, Washington, DC, September 19th & 20th, 2012
Avenir Museum, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO, September 20, 2012
Upstate Films, Rhinebeck and Woodstock, NY, September 15 & 16, 2012
McNay Museum, San Antonio, TX, June 21, 2012
The Screen, Santa Fe, NM, April 26, 2012
Las Aranas Spinners & Weavers Guild, April 24, 2012
London College of Fashion, UK, March 12, 2012
Devon Guild of Craftsmen, UK, March 10, 2012
The Ebenezer Chapel, Somerset, UK, March 9, 2012
Bath Literature Festival, UK, March 9, 2012
Colour Group, UK, at City University, London, March 7, 2012
San Antonio Museum of Art, Mays Symposium, February 4, 2012
Guild Cinema, Albuquerque, NM, January 7-8, 2012
KiMo Theater, Albuquerque, NM, August 7, 2011
Lensic Performing Arts Center, Santa Fe, NM, August 6, 2011 (a benefit for the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market)
International Symposium on Natural Dyes (ISEND2011), La Rochelle, France, May, 2011
