Say Amen, Somebody (1983)

Interesting facts

Say Amen, Somebody is a 1982 American documentary film directed by George Nierenberg about the history and significance of gospel music as told through the lives and trials of its singers. Included are Thomas A. Dorsey, considered the "Father of Gospel Music", and "Mother" Willie Mae Ford Smith, an associate of Dorsey's who trained gospel singers for decades. Ford and three singing acts – Delois Barrett Campbell and the Barrett Sisters, Zella Jackson Price, and the O'Neal Twins, Edgar and Edward, backed by a choir – provide music throughout.

Production and filming

Nierenberg does not use a narrator in the film to explain details to the audience. Instead, stories are told through memories shared on camera, vintage film footage and still shots, and more intimate scenes Nierenberg set up between performances. He employs a personalized method of documentary filmmaking, using subjects the way a scripted movie uses characters.

During filming, Nierenberg recalls a litany of mechanical problems with cameras, lighting, and sound equipment, remembering it as "a disaster". Much of the time dedicated to technical aspects of filming was spent setting up lighting, which, according to J. Greg Evans in American Cinematographer, acts as support for the narrative structure of the film.

Nierenberg furthermore insisted that each of the three cameras had a sound man and an assistant during musical performances to capture ambient sounds and conversations so nothing would be missed. While filming the performers, Nierenberg sat above the crew, directing each camera assistant to capture what he wanted.

Looking back, cinematographer Don Lenzer viewed the filming sessions as a unique experience in his career. Going into the project, he was unsure Nierenberg's strategy of setting up scenes would bring results that would be both realistic and interesting to watch. He remarked that capturing the performances was as powerful as they are to see on film, bringing about an ecstasy of being "in the moment".

Dorsey began to show signs of Alzheimer's disease in the late 1970s. His involvement in the film was limited to periods when he was able to participate. His attendance at the NCGCC conference in the film was his last. He stopped speaking almost entirely two years after filming, and died in 1993. Willie Mae Ford Smith died the next year.

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