Amazing Grace, the 1972 documentary about Aretha Franklin shot by the late Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack, is finally going to be shown publicly this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. But only if Franklin can't stop it in time.
The film was announced as a part of Telluride’s main program this weekend and is also set to play at next week’s Toronto International Film Festival. It features footage of Franklin’s famed performance at the New Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles and was never released due to concerns over the sound. However, Pollack did say before his death in 2008 that he hoped it would eventually see the light of day.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Franklin has filed a lawsuit in Colorado federal court, which says that the film was made under the agreement that it could only be shown with the “Respect” singer’s approval.
“Allowing the film to be shown violates Ms. Franklin’s contractual rights, her intellectual property rights, her rights to use and control her name and likeness, and represents an invasion of her privacy,” the complaint reads.
Despite Franklin’s attempt to get the Telluride screening stopped, Amazing Grace’s producers say that they think they should be allowed to show it.
“We are operating under the existing contract between Aretha Franklin and Warner Bros., which has governed the use of footage from this session in the past,” co-producer Joe Boyd told the Detroit Free Press.
“I love and respect Ms. Franklin, and it's been an honor to work on this project. For eight years we’ve tried to get her to be a part of it. A few weeks ago her attorney was provided all the documentation, including her Warner contract, and we really hope she’ll come and be part of it,” co-producer Alan Elliott added.
Saving Grace is supposed to be screened today, then again in Toronto on Thursday. Footage included in the film did surface in a 1988 American Masters episode on Franklin.
image courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com