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A Century of Color: Maya Weaving & Textiles surveys 100 years of continuity and change in Maya weaving and textiles of Guatemala. It begins with the 1902 Gustavus Eisen collection of photographs and textiles at the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, and continues through the century with stunning examples of blouses, skirts, belts, hair ribbons, men’s wear, ikat and embroidery.

The viewer is introduced to the effects of cultural changes brought about by the following: the recent 36-year Civil War; introduction of Spanish language in rural schools; proliferation of mass media; increased tourism and artisan organizations; changes in the role of women; pressure from a globalized world economy; and importation of vast quantities of cheap, new and used clothing.

The documentary runs 53 minutes in length. The narration is selectable in English (Cheryl Guerrero) or Spanish (Marta Lucía Beltrán) on the DVD. Original music was composed by Christopher Hedge, with sound by The Magic Shop.

Margot Blum Schevill and Kathleen Mossman Vitale wrote the script. Schevill is a textile scholar, anthropologist and exhibition curator. Her most recent books are The Maya Textile Tradition with photography by Jeffery Jay Foxx, and Maya Textiles of Guatemala: The Gustavus A. Eisen Collection, 1902.

Vitale, a former journalist, photographer and editor, began producing documentaries in 1998. She lived in Latin America for 13 years, including two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Her documentaries include CS Price: Modernist Painter in Search of Spirit, and Blossoms from the Mud: The Art of Wang Gongyi (English & French). In 2005, Schevill and Vitale produced their first documentary together for Endangered Threads Documentaries called Splendor in the Highlands: Maya Weavers of Guatemala (English & Spanish).

Testimonials and reviews:

(A Century of Color: Maya Weaving & Textiles) is wonderful. What a great collection; to have these incredible historic images is of such interest and importance. You have done a superb job gathering and comparing this material… Weaving is such a living, vital part of village life and it is a sorry day to see it pass. In another generation or two, the textiles will become museum displays and hopefully also will be kept as cherished family remembrances. So we are grateful to have seen them and now to have your documentary to enjoy.

--Barbara & Justin Kerr
MAYAVASE
(Three photos of Precolumbian ceramic figurines of weavers by New York photographer Justin Kerr are included in the documentary.)

I very much enjoyed watching the documentary - the photography, excellent weaving footage and interweaving of scholarly and historical information was all beautifully presented, concise, and highly informative.

-- Jamie Marshall, Curator
The Guatemalan Maya Centre
London, England