For world-renowned Cajun artist George Rodrigue (1944-2013), the story of his exiled ancestors was one he told through brushstrokes, one that culminated in a golden eyed Blue Dog. Blue, The Life and Art of George Rodrigue paints a portrait of an artist who overcame great adversity on his way to becoming an international Pop Art sensation. Interviews with family, curators, critics, collectors and notable subjects and admirers, including Emeril Lagasse, Drew Brees, James Carville, and Marc Morial, and archival interviews of the artist himself including his final broadcast interview, will shed light on the significance of Rodrigue’s life and work. Heavily influenced by the art of Andy Warhol, Rodrigue attended the College of Art and Design in Los Angeles in the 1960s before returning home to paint Louisiana. After two decades of celebrating Cajun culture on canvas, in a way no American artist ever had, Rodrigue achieved commercial success by turning a Cajun folklore character known as the Loup Garou into the iconic star of his works. From teaching himself to paint while bedridden with polio, to being snubbed by art critics and museums for decades, to his valiant battles with Hurricane Katrina then terminal cancer, George Rodrigue stayed true to his vision and in the process made us all happy to feel Blue.

Directed by Sean O’Malley (USA)