Les Blues de Balfa (1983)

About the Film

A portrait of Southwestern Louisana\'s Balfa Brothers, ambassadors of traditional Cajun music to the world. Filmed in Louisiana between 1978 and 1981, the film focuses on the surviving brother fiddler Dewey Balfa and his efforts to continue playing and performing his family\'s traditional music after the sudden death of his brothers Rodney and Will in a traffic accident.

We met Dewey and Rodney Balfa in 1978 while filming Homemade American Music at a folk music festival with Mike Seeger and Alice Gerrard. Dewey and Rodney invited us down to visit them in Basile and Mamou Louisiana, but before we could get there, Rodney and Will had died together in a car crash. Dewey was devastated, and together with Tracy Schwarz who was a visitor there at the same time, we worked to revive Dewey\'s spirits, helping out as we could. This tragedy became a central part of the film, which is a tribute to the Balfa family, their friends and their music. --Yasha Aginsky, filmmaker.