Alan Swyer is an award-winning filmmaker whose recent documentaries have dealt with Eastern spirituality in the Western world, the criminal justice system, diabetes, boxing, and blues. His new film, When Houston Had the Blues, was reviewed in the Houston Chronicle and Film Threat, among others. It won Best Documentary Award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in 2020. The documentary also received an award in Paris, and an Audience Award in Amsterdam. According to the Britain’s Blues & Rhythm, “The amount of musical talent to come out of Houston is unsurpassed…. Not enough space to tell everyone how good this documentary is.” Swyer is now producing a follow-up, When LA Got the Blues, featuring giants like Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and Etta James, as well as Louis Jordan, Little Esther, the Chambers Brothers, and including interviews with John Densmore and Robbie Krieger of The Doors, Dave Alvin of the Blasters, and Willie Chambers.
Look out for a possible screen adaptation of Swyer’s novel, The Beard, (H2 Editions, 2016). His fiction has appeared in Irish, English, German, Indian, and American publications. He teaches screenwriting at Chapman University. His other awards include the Imagen Award (2009) for “Beisbol” — Best Feature-length Documentary; the Golden Microphone Award for Diabetes: Challenges & Breakthroughs — Best Documentary; and multiple festival awards for Spiritual Revolution.
