ReelAbilities Film Festival Presents: How Sweet The Sound: The Blind Boys of Alabama

Floor Three, Susan and John Hess Family Theater

The Whitney is proud to participate in the 2017 ReelAbilities Film Festival, the first of its kind to present award-winning films by and about people with disabilities. Screenings take place at multiple venues throughout the New York metropolitan area, and each is followed by discussions that bring together the community to explore, discuss, embrace, and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience.

How Sweet The Sound: The Blind Boys of Alabama (2015)
Directed by Leslie McCleave (89 minutes, USA, documentary)
Legendary gospel quartet The Blind Boys of Alabama has an amazing career—since meeting at a state-run, segregated vocational institute for the blind in the 1930s, they have toured continuously, amassing five Grammy Awards and universal acclaim. They soared through the golden era of gospel in the 1950s, experienced difficult times when rock ’n’ roll took over, and resurged with the Broadway hit Gospel at Colonus. Now, as the group enters its seventh decade, they are as artistically vital as ever, collaborating with musicians like Peter Gabriel, Ben Harper, and others. As the surviving band members recount their unlikely success story, we see a rare, remarkable view of life on the road and in the studio with a group of renowned performers.

Screening followed by Q&A with director.

Please contact accessfeedback@whitney.org or (646) 666-5574 with any questions about accessibility, or requests for accommodations such as an accessible seating location, audio description, or open captioning. Relay calls are welcome. The theater is equipped with an induction loop.

Registration is closed due to capacity. To inquire about the waitlist please email accessfeedback@whitney.org.