Aretha Franklin is one of the biggest musical icons of the 20th century. She helped transform the musical landscape of America in the 1960’s & 1970’s, and was one of the premier faces of what we would eventually call Soul Music. In 1972 she performed at the New Bethel Baptist Church, for a concert film that was directed by Sidney Pollack, but wouldn’t be seen by audiences for over 45 years. On November 15 & 16, VIFF Centre will be hosting two screenings of Amazing Grace (99 mins) a landmark film that has quickly become known as one of the greatest concert films of all time.
Before the movie, enjoy a live music set in Aretha’s honour. There’s nobody better suited to help celebrate this legend than the Canadian Queen of Soul, Dawn Pemberton. She’s a multiple time Juno Nominee known for her ability to blur the lines between Jazz, Soul, Blues & Funk, and she’ll be joined by an all-star band:
Mike Ardagh – Drums
Max Zipursky – Keys
André Lachance – Bass
Tristan Paxton – Guitar
Dawn Pemberton – Voice
One of the great music films.
Wesley Morris, New York Times
Surely the new gold standard of filmed music concerts?
David Jenkins, Little White Lies
Ecstatic.
Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Co-Presented with
Nov 15 at 8:00 pm
Nov 16 at 3:30 pm
VIFF Centre, VIFF Cinema
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Credits
Executive Producer
Joey Carey, Alexandra Johnes, Stefan Nowicki
Producer
Joe Boyd, Alan Elliott, Aretha Franklin, Robert Johnson, Chiemi Karasawa, Spike Lee, Sabrina V. Owens, Angie Seegers, Jerry Wexler, Tirrell D. Whittley, Joseph Woolf
Cinematography
Sydney Pollack
Editor
Jeff Buchanan
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Dawn Pemberton Sings Aretha + Amazing Grace Film Screening
These dates are going to knock your socks off: one of the all-time great concert films, Aretha Franklin performing at the New Bethel Baptist Church in 1972, and Canada's own Queen of Soul, Dawn Pemberton, performing live in Aretha's honour.
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Jim Jarmusch returns to the anthology format he mastered in earlier films with this triptych of tales involving parents (Tom Waits and Charlotte Rampling) and their grown children (among them, Adam Driver, Vicky Krieps and Cate Blanchette).
Image: © Vague Notion
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