The highly acclaimed 2018 documentary Amazing Grace, featuring Aretha Franklin with a church choir, will be screened at Washington, D.C.’s Allen Chapel AME Church on August 16, which marks the one-year anniversary of her death.
The movie consists of 29-year-old Franklin’s 1972 live gospel performance over two nights at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in the infamous Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
“The concert, which was filmed and directed by Oscar winner Sydney Pollack (Tootsie, Out of Africa) would lay in obscurity for over 30 years never to be seen in theaters. In Spring 2019, the film, titled Amazing Grace was finally released in theaters to nationwide acclaim. The film’s soundtrack would become the biggest selling disc of Franklin’s career as well as the highest selling live gospel music album of all time. It also won the 1973 Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance,” the event brief says.
Despite the fact that Franklin was from Detroit, she had strong ties to D.C. and she performed here many times, including at the inauguration of three U.S. presidents.
Organized by the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum, the free event is funded partly by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities. It is scheduled to run between 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. this Friday. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
The African Methodist Episcopal church is located at 2498 Alabama Ave. SE, Washington, D.C. 20020.
Possible attendees are urged to register. However, it is noted that registration does not guarantee a seat, as seating is always available on a first-come, first-served basis.