AMAZING GRACE—Aretha Franklin ’s landmark gospel album—was recorded live at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles in January 1972. Franklin’s producer Jerry Wexler was there, as was film director Sydney Pollack, who was hired to document the performance.
The film—a revelation—has gone unseen until recently for two reasons: the sound and images were never in sync, and Franklin herself did not want the footage released to the public. Following her death, and a review of her original Warner Bros. film contract, AMAZING GRACE premiered in November 2018 in New York. It will screen in Los Angeles as part of the inaugural Red Bull Music Center Channel film festival.
Monday, February 11, doors at 7 pm.
Ukrainian Culture Center
4315 Melrose Avenue, East Hollywood, Los Angeles.
From top: Aretha Franklin in Amazing Grace; album cover image courtesy Atlantic Records; Mick Jagger (foreground center) enjoying Franklin’s performance at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church.