Ella Fitzgerald was a 15 year-old street kid when she won a talent contest in 1934 at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Within months she was a star. ELLA: JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS follows her extraordinary journey over six decades as her sublime voice transforms the tragedies of her own life and the troubles of her times into joy.

The film uses never-before-seen images and unheard interviews to bring Ella Fitzgerald to life and to tell the story of her music.-a black woman who makes her career in the face of horrifying racism. Here is an Ella the world never knew – tough, thoughtful, funny, a dazzling musical innovator. The documentary also uncovers Ella’s commitment to the battle for Civil Rights; and it exploresthe conflicts that always haunted this intensely private woman: the struggle to reconcile her hunger for adoring audiences with her longing for a domestic life with her husband and son.

At a time when she was the biggest singing star in the world, her pianist and friend Oscar Peterson said Ella was, “the loneliest woman in the world”. But as Jamie Cullum says, “her music is one of the reasons it’s worth being on this planet”. Featuring interviews with: Tony Bennett, Jamie Cullum, Laura Mvula, Johnny Mathis, Smokey Robinson, Cleo Laine, Andre Previn, Norma Miller, Patti Austin, Izsak Perlman, Margo Jefferson, Will Friedwald and a rare interview with Ella’s son, Ray Brown Jr.

“The inventiveness and virtuosity will dazzle you, but the depth and eloquence of her rendition of “Summertime” will stir your soul.” (Boston Globe)

“The best thing about “Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things,” other than the music, is the way it evokes an era and reminds us that its subject was one of the great voices of the 20th century.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

“A jazz movie whose dominant mode – amid valiant efforts to mine some personal sorrow – is actual musical joy? We’ll take it.” (Variety)

Sunday, August 30
Doors 3:30 pm | Movie 4:00 pm *Start time subject to change.
Advance tickets $15 HERE | $15 at the door

Sunday, September 6
Doors 3:45 pm | Movie 4:15 pm *Start time subject to change.
Advance tickets $15 HERE | $15 at the door

PLEASE NOTE: All of the Rio Theatre’s screenings are operating at a sharply reduced capacity. We can’t guarantee availability of tickets at the door, so advance tickets for all screening events are strongly recommended. Our online box office can be found at www.riotheatretickets.ca. Online sales for every screening automatically end 1 hour before any given showtime.

ELLA FITZGERALD: JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS (Leslie Woodhead, 2020 / 89 mins / G)  Ella Fitzgerald was a 15-year-old street kid when she won a talent contest in 1934 at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. Within months she was a star. Over the next six decades, her sublime voice would transform the tragedies of her own life and the troubles of her times into joy. JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS retraces her extraordinary journey, charting the beginning of the legendary jazz singer’s career and documents how her virtuosic singing helped her to overcome sexism, racism, and sizeism in her time.