STAY PRAYED UP: a joy-filled gospel music documentary — Images Cinema Thursday, July 6

STAY PRAYED UP is a joy-filled gospel music documentary that has been lifting spirits ever since it premiered at the Telluride Film Festival back in September 2021. The film is an inspiring portrait of 83-year-old North Carolina music legend, Mother Lena Mae Perry, and The Branchettes, her “church gospel noisy crew” of nearly 50 years. In a global moment rife with social and political dissonance, STAY PRAYED UP dares to transport audiences to a place where spirit and music converge in universal vibration.  As we’ve toured with the film around the country the last two years, the audience response has been incredible, especially among faith communities. It is a story that anyone who is a part of the legacy of the Black church can relate to and celebrate.  This event is co-presented by the Williams College Chaplains’ Office and the First Congregational Church of Williamstown.

Pre-Film Reception will be held at 6 p.m. at Images Cinema, followed by film at 7 p.m. Please join us for a post-screening conversation will co-director Matt Durning, the Rev. Dr. Arnold Isidore Thomas and the Rev. Valerie Bailey Fischer. For more information please contact the Chaplains’ Office at 413-597-5364 or email Valerie at vb7@williams.edu.

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