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Aretha Franklin sues to stop a documentary on her from being shown at a major film festival
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Aretha Franklin.
In a complaint filed in the US District Court in Colorado, legendary singer Aretha Franklin is seeking to stop the Telluride Film Festival from screening the documentary "Amazing Grace" on Friday.
According to Variety, Franklin contends that the documentary, which is culled from concert footage shot in 1972 by the late actor/director Sydney Pollack, "was taken with the express understanding that it would not be used commercially without agreement and consent by Ms. Franklin."
Franklin is seeking a court order to prevent Telluride from showing the movie on Friday.
This is not the first time Franklin has tried to prevent the concert footage from being shown.
In 2011, the singer sued "Amazing Grace" producer Alan Elliott and, as stated in the current complaint, the "lawsuit was resolved after Elliott agreed not to release the film."
Another "Amazing Grace" producer, Joe Boyd, told the Detroit Free-Press that "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."
"Amazing Grace" is a behind-the-scenes look at Franklin's best-selling album "Amazing Grace," which consists of the two days of gospel performances she did at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles, in January 1972.
The film has been a passion project of Elliott's since the 2008 death of Pollack, who always hoped the film would one day be released.
The Telluride Film Festival is one of the main destinations for films that want to be considered for awards season.
"Amazing Grace" is scheduled to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival next week.
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