© Apollo Theater
Documentary explores the legendary singer’s sudden disappearance from the stage and re-emergence into the spotlight
WHAT: The Apollo brings back its innovative Apollo Film series with a digital screening of the rarely seen 2019 documentary Devil’s Pie: D’Angelo presented by ImageNation’s Cocktails & Sol Cinemas and streaming on the Apollo Digital Stage. Directed by Carine Bijlsma, the film traces the story of the Grammy Award winning singer’s return to the public eye after a 14-year absence and features interviews and performances by D’Angelo, Questlove, Jesse Johnson, and others. The digital screening will be followed by a prerecorded conversation with Bijlsma and ImageNation Founder Moikgantsi Kgama.
In 2000, D’Angelo was at the height of his career with two platinum selling albums and a sold-out world tour, but, without warning, he vanished from public view. For 12 years he descended into darkness, and then, out of nowhere in December 2014 — before surprise albums became the norm on social media — he released his third album Black Messiah.
Following the screening, ImageNation Founder Moikgantsi Kgama and director Carine Bijlsma will discuss the making of the film and D’Angelo’s enduring relevance.
Tickets for the screening are $7 — $5 for A-List subscribers — and the film and conversation will be available to stream on demand until November 7.
WHEN: Thursday, November 4 at 7:00pm EST
WHERE: The virtual screening will take place on the Apollo’s Digital Stage at apollotheater.org.
ABOUT IMAGENATION
ImageNation, an innovative Harlem-based company, partners with the Apollo to present quarterly events featuring premier and advance screenings of Pan-African films, preceded by a reception with a live DJ/performance, followed by a talkback. The series features films primarily directed by people of color that explore the history, examine social issues, and highlight the humanity of Pan-African people in the genres of drama, science fiction, animation, comedy, documentary, experimental, and emerging media.
ABOUT THE APOLLO
The legendary Apollo Theater—the soul of American culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since its founding, the Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world.
With music at its core, the Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes the world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella; and the annual Africa Now! Festival. The non-profit Apollo Theater is a performing arts presenter, commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals and large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend the Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens, including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival as well as other multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations.
Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at the Apollo are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R., D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly, and Miri Ben Ari; and the Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. For more information about the Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.
