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Film director Amma Asante, Joe Boyd on Aretha Franklin, Ireland's Abbey Theatre

Amma Asante on her new film Where Hands Touch, 大象传媒 TV drama Years and Years reviewed, the film of Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace concert, plus news from Dublin's Abbey Theatre

Director Amma Asante on her new film Where Hands Touch, which follows Leyna, an Afro-German girl, living under the increasingly dangerous and racist Nazi regime during World War II. Asante discusses her approach, used in this film and in A United Kingdom and Belle, of shining a light on little known histories often involving black characters to tell us something about the world today.

Years and Years is 大象传媒 One's new drama series created by Russell T Davies. Set in an imagined near future, it stars Emma Thompson as an outspoken celebrity turned political figure whose controversial opinions divide the nation. Katie Popperwell reviews.

Aretha Franklin's legendary 1972 album Amazing Grace saw the singer returning to her soul routes after commercial success. The record went on to be the biggest seller of Franklin's 50 year career. Far less well known is the accompanying concert film directed by Sydney Pollack which captured the recording in raw detail, but was subsequently shelved. Forty-seven years later as the film is finally released in cinemas, record producer Joe Boyd tells the story of its long gestation.

Deirdre Falvey, arts journalist for the Irish Times, on the ongoing uproar at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin which has seen over 400 theatre professionals in Ireland sign an open letter to the Minister for Culture, Josepha Madigan, expressing their "deep concern and dissatisfaction" with Ireland's national theatre under its current directors.

Presenter : Samira Ahmed
Producer : Dymphna Flynn

Available now

28 minutes

Film director Amma Asante

Film director Amma Asante

Where Hands Touch directed by Amma Asante is in UK cinemas from 10 May 2019, Certificate 12A.

Images:

Main image above:听

Image to the left:

George MacKay as Lutz and Amandla Stenberg as Leyna in

Image credit: Protagonist Films

Years and Years

Years and Years

Years and Years, a 6-part series written by Russell T. Davies, is on 大象传媒 1 on Tuesdays at 9.00pm听from 14 May 2019, 听and on the 大象传媒 iPlayer.

Image: Emma Thompson as Vivienne Rook (centre)

Image credit: 大象传媒/Red Productions/Guy Farrow

Ireland's Abbey Theatre

Ireland's Abbey Theatre

Image: The front of the

Image credit: Ros Kavanagh

Joe Boyd on Aretha Franklin

Joe Boyd on Aretha Franklin

, a film produced by ,is in selected UK cinemas on 10 May 2019, Certificate U.

Image: Aretha Franklin in Amazing Grace

Image credit: Neon

Broadcast

  • Tue 7 May 2019 19:15

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