Say Amen, Somebody

Gospel is the DNA of pop. Hedonistic paeans to sex, drugs and bling or gritty social commentary in soul, R&B house and hip hop are delivered with ear-pleasing, emotion-laden vocals, honed through years of disciplined practice in African American Protestant church choirs. Say Amen, Somebody, first released in 1982 as gospel enjoyed a boom, pays tribute to two of gospel's driving forces. Thomas A. Dorsey played the blues in the 1930s, then chose to spread the "good news“ of gospel, as a prolific composer, songbook publisher and concert organizer. Willie Mae Ford Smith was both gospel's diva and earth mother. As a singer and preacher – arousing debate even within her own family about equality in the church and women having careers at all – Smith advanced gospel through her own skills and by nurturing new talent. The interviews, often evolving into exchanges among family members or co-workers, are conducted in dynamic settings that capture much of the surrounding circumstances and context- gospel as a medium of faith coming to terms with changes in society. Sociological "thick description“ through film (and plenty of singing) and a gold standard of observational music documentary. (Berlinale)