James Blue

An award-winning documentary filmmaker, James Blue (1930-1980) was a truth-searcher and communicator, an aesthetician, master teacher and actor; a journalist, a poet, a film pioneer. Blue was a generous spirit who gave himself without reservation to his colleagues, his subjects and his art.

In 1980, James Blue died at the age of 49, leaving behind a remarkable legacy. A rebel, a storyteller, a world citizen, an award-winning filmmaker and a revered educator, Blue’s life and work continue to influence filmmakers, artists and agents of social change.

With the sensibility of an actor, the discipline of a craftsman and the soul of a poet, his award-winning films like The March, The Olive Trees of Justice, and A Few Notes on Our Food Problem inspired generations of filmmakers to explore film as a medium to empower the voiceless while helping audiences better understand the complexities of the human condition.

His unconventional style of interactive filmmaking began with asking questions and allowing his films to reveal the answers through engaging his subjects. He was the visionary pioneer of participatory media, which today’s social networks and blogs have placed squarely into the hands of Everyman.