Queen of Soul center of next BFS screening at Emerson
On Thursday, July 11th, Bozeman Film Society presents acclaimed Aretha Franklin documentary, Amazing Grace. The screening will be held at the Emerson Center for the Arts & Culture beginning at 7:30pm.
In January 1972, legendary singer Aretha Franklin gave two days of gospel performances at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles, recording what would become the best-selling album of her career, Amazing Grace.
The sessions were captured by a film crew led by young director Sydney Pollack, but the footage wound up shelved for decades and has remained one of the lost cinematic treasures of twentieth-century music. Until now. Before Pollacks’s death in 2008, he expressed a wish for the film to be completed, and producer Alan Elliot took it up as a passion project. The electrifying resurrected footage in Amazing Grace transcends the decades that have passed since its filming, transporting viewers into the pews of that church in South Central Los Angeles, where the Queen of Soul brought down the house with the help of Reverend James Cleveland and the Southern California Community Choir over two mesmerizing evenings. Franklin’s fervent, joyful, soul-shattering voice soars and fills the room, imbuing the church audience with an ever-escalating energy to match her own, lifting everyone around her to dizzying heights of ecstatic excitement.
Amazing Grace lets the events unfold without imposing present-day interviews, allowing Franklin’s singular talent to carry us home, creating a truly transcendent experience that encapsulates a phenomenal artist sharing her gift with the world. Rated G, the film runs 87 minutes.
“Everybody deserves to have Aretha Franklin take them to the moon. Don’t bother with tissues. Bring a towel.” – Wesley Morris, New York Times
“It will make you feel like you’ve seen the face of God.” – Rolling Stone
Reserved seats for Amazing Grace are $9.75 for adults or $9.25 for seniors and students. Advance tickets are available in-store at Cactus Records or online at www.cactusrecords.net (plus service fees). The Emerson lobby opens at 6pm for day of show tickets, with concessions available for purchase at 6:30pm. Doors at 7pm ahead of the screening.
Bozeman Film Society seeks out and presents independent films which engage, entertain, and foster an understanding of the world community around us. Visit www.bozemanfilmsociety.org for film previews and further information – and “Keep ‘Em Flickering!” •