NEW YORK, NY.- Film Forum will present the U.S. theatrical premiere of Paris Barclay’s Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It on Friday, February 20.
Musical prodigy, admired and beloved by collaborators including Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Sly Stone, and others; dubbed “the fifth Beatle” for his co-credited “Get Back” recording; genius of gospel, rock, and funk as keyboardist, vocalist, and songwriter. Billy Preston was also troubled, underrecognized, and elusive—a closeted gay man raised in a Black church community that stridently condemned homosexuality (or pretended it didn’t exist) who later fell into drug addiction, tax debt, and imprisonment. Through electrifying concert footage and moving interviews with Billy Porter, Ringo Starr, Merry Clayton, and Preston’s longtime friend Eric Clapton, Emmy®-winning writer-director Paris Barclay (NYPD Blue, Sons of Anarchy, Scandal) and co-writer Cheo Hodari Coker (Luke Cage) bring this unsung maestro front and center, with a revelatory story of what might have—and should have—been.
Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It had its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival and went on to screen at DOC NYC, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Filmfest DC, and more.
“An eye-opening look at the organ prodigy who fused with the Beatles and helped to forge funk... But as the documentary reveals, Billy Preston was an elusive figure—ebullient and all there, and also hidden and mysterious.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“Right from the start, Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It, the first-ever documentary on the late pop-R&B singer, songwriter, and organ maestro, makes it clear that few communicated as much unabashed, unapologetic joy onstage as Preston... Every second of those performance clips in the doc communicate the way Preston was in the pursuit of happiness through music.” – David Browne, Rolling Stone
“While so many musicians receive the bio-doc treatment these days, few of them have a story as worthy and as complicated as Billy Preston. A definitive portrait… That’s The Way God Planned It is a must-see for fans of the veritable genius and for people who are only being introduced to this most remarkable and complex of subjects.” – Jason Gorber, POV
Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It (2024, 105 min.) Directed by Paris Barclay. Written by Paris Barclay, Cheo Hodari Coker. Producers: Stephanie Allain, Jeanne Elfant Festa, Nigel Sinclair, Cheo Hodari Coker. Executive Producers: Paris Barclay, Nicholas Ferrall, Cassidy Hartmann, Olivia Harrison, Jonathan Clyde, Dave Knott, Regina K. Scully, Daniel Shaw, G. Marq Roswell, Ben J. Murphy, Scott Pascucci, Sophia Dilley, Charles Hopkins, Jenny Raskin, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Lauren & John Driscoll, Meadow Fund, Ian Darling, Jeffrey Lurie, Marie Therese Guirgis, Steve Cohen & Paula Froehle, John & Michelle Keller, Brad & Debbie Buss, Andrew Trapani, Bruce Resnikoff, Jody Gerson. Cinematography: Ernesto Lomeli, Carmen Delaney, Jerry Henry. Editing: Scott D. Hanson. Composers: Robert Glasper, Derrick Hodge. USA. An Abramorama Release.
