‘Stay Up Prayed’ Introduces Brilliant Gospel Singer Anne Perry: “Represents Unlimited, Endless Love”

Everyone watching the documentary. ოცAmazing graceIt’s hard to imagine a movie that can compete with Aretha Franklin’s Gospel album. but a new movie keep in prayer It contains equally refreshing moments in a gospel singer’s performance, in this case, an obscure but immensely talented woman referred to as Anne Perry.

For nearly 50 years, Anne Perry sang hymns as part of The Branchettes, a gospel group based in the rural town of Lena May Perry, North Carolina. He is the last surviving member of the original trio, and directors DL Anderson and Matt Durning built the film around the recording of the first live gospel album.

As the producers noted, the live recording featuring Perry as lead vocalist, with “shimmering keys from Wilbur’s canvas, soaring harmony and thunderous percussion backed by Angela Kent’s The Guitar Heels” was filmed in April 2019.

“They did two sets,” Derning said during a movie screening in Santa Monica over the weekend. “It wasn’t exactly the same show, but it was done twice. So we were able to make some decisions and choose camera positions and audience reaction shots and we had two chances.”

Perry, under his rich contract, recorded a variety of religious music on The Branchettes, including the upbeat “Come By Here” and the emotionally appealing “I Don’t Feel Noways Tred.” until ოცAmazing grace It was not necessary to be religious or Christian to enjoy the music in the film and feel its supreme influence.

My assistant director is DL. Anderson and I are not [religious] “People,” Derning said. “We have never had a deep connection with organized religion. We ourselves do not come from the church… The power that most fascinated us in history was first in Sister Perry, we saw it in both good religion and spirituality that can be a unifying and restorative or productive force in our society.”

For filmmakers, keep in prayer It meant “going to church” in a direct and figurative sense.

“It started on day one. “We finished filming and Sister Perry asked us to pray,” Derning recalls. “And expressing your gratitude for what you have, for the people you can share the day with, for the food you ate… it was a very powerful experience for us. Our goal was to make our people feel that way.”

The Greenwich Entertainment distributor is traveling to various locations in New York City, Santa Monica, Cincinnati, Ohio, Chicago, and North Carolina, including Normal, Illinois, Louisville, Kentucky, and Chapel Hill this week. It will be available on-demand on iTunes and Amazon on July 5. The recording is available through Spiritual Helpline, a record label and production company founded by Phil Cook whose music aims to deliver music with evangelical roots that would otherwise go unnoticed.

“Through music, chat, and film,” the company says on its website, “The Spiritual Helpline points to the sacred voices of traditionalists in the South and beyond.”

Cook is a white musician originally from Wisconsin. He stressed that he did not share the work of African-American artists involved in the black experience.

“Phil was already committed to creating an album that would change the power structure traditionally found in the recording industry, where an engineer, a recorder, makes very little money and the publisher takes all the revenue,” Derning said. . “He changed that, so Mother Perry owns 80 percent of the album revenue. And Phil only has a 20% stake as a producer. So he said, “If I’m going to make a movie with you and we’re going to make a movie with him, it’s going to be the same with the movie relationship. “

Anne Perry’s daughter, Lena Williams, is the producer of the film. According to Derning, the mother and daughter “had a 50 percent interest in the film in terms of creative control, editorial control, and ownership of the film for any potential income that would arise later on.”

The directors hired folklorist Michelle Lanier to work with them on the film. Lanier is affiliated with the Duke University Center for Documentary Research and oversees numerous museums, battlefields, and other sites for the North Carolina Department of Historic Sites and Properties.

“It was clear to us from the very beginning,” Derning said, “if we were going to go there and go to the African-American community and the African-American woman as two young white filmmakers, we would go there.” There was a lot we needed to do to make sure we got the right care and attention, and we had the right voices and support team around us who would take responsibility for any bias we might have and not even think about how to fix the problem. . History.

“Bringing Anne Perry and her daughter to the table as creative partners and then bringing in Michelle Lanier as our influential folklorist and producer, I think it was just one small step that we made sure we got well and tried to bring in some traditional stuff. power dynamics and filmmaking. . “

Anne Perry turned 83 on January 1 of this year. keep in prayer More than a concert film; She also follows Perry in her daily life, meets with her friends, and speaks regularly with her four surviving children. Faith assisted him in the loss of one of his sons, who died while serving in the US Army in Germany. As the center of the movie, she radiates joy and concern for others.

“This is what Mother Perry stands for, this is endless, boundless, boundless love,” Derning says. “He experienced what he went through in life, the racism he experienced as a child, the loss he experienced with the death of his son, and once again expressed such hope, such understanding, such grace and love. “Everyone was just shocked.”