Blue Cast: Roger Williams on the Making of RiverBlue
Carved in Blue is starting off our new podcast series by taking a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a must-see fashion documentary.
Award-winning director, producer and director of photography Roger Williams spoke with Lenzing’s Michael Kininmonth about the research, filming and distribution of his movie “RiverBlue,” which looks at the impact the fashion industry has on water.
Roger originally set out wanting to do an environmental project on water. After coming across a satellite photo of blue-black stains streaming into a body of water in China’s blue jeans capital, he found his subject. Blue jeans are very iconic, and a large portion of the globe has experience with denim. But at the same time, Roger realized he didn’t know much about the making of this clothing staple, and many consumers don’t either.
“I knew that we had a story there that we could delve into,” he said. The time was also right for a documentary-length exploration of this topic, which had been previously just been covered in news articles.
The documentary took three years to film, as the production traveled to locations around the globe, including Italy, India, Australia and Zambia. Along the way, Roger and his collaborators faced some dangerous situations to get shots.
For this multi-year “passion project,” Roger had to take unconventional approaches to financing and distributing the film. In the podcast, Roger shared stories from some of the screenings he’s done. At film festivals, the audiences for “River Blue” tend to skew younger, including moms who are carefully researching the chemical safety of their children’s clothing. “There are more and more what I consider conscious consumers who aren’t just looking for fast fashion; there’s a big segment of course that does, but I’m finding a growing segment that is looking to do better,” said Roger.
“RiverBlue” has also been shown in schools, educating the next generation on the environmental impact of fashion. “I’m often asked about how we can get consumers to change how they consume, and my answer is, once you’re an adult, it’s almost too late,” said Michael. “I really think that education is everything.”
The distribution has also included private showings hosted by fashion corporations as part of their efforts to improve sustainability.
Roger aimed to show both the negatives and the positives, including businesses like Jeanologia that are moving fashion in the right direction. Often, the argument against changing processes or facilities to lower the environmental impact of apparel is financial, but some success stories show it’s possible to achieve both purpose and profit. “Any business needs a profit, and that’s fine, but it doesn’t have to be on the backs of the workers, and it doesn’t have to be on the backs of the environment,” he said.
Listen to the full episode here.
Roger is offering Carved in Blue readers a 15 percent off code to watch the full feature-length “RiverBlue” film. Click here to redeem.