‘Five Heartbeats’ documentary nominated for NAACP Image Award

NEW YORK — Some of us understand the heartbreak of finding out our favorite band has broken up, but few can actually turn that dismay into a cult classic. That’s what Robert Townsend did with “The Five Heartbeats.”

According to the 62-year old filmmaker, it was hearing that David Ruffin was leaving The Temptations that inspired him to create a film about a fictional group that mirrored their rise and fall.

“When you’re a kid and you’re on welfare … what lifted us a lot of times was music,” said Townsend.

That eventually led to what he thought was his magnum opus — the 1991 movie “The Five Heartbeats.” The film tanked in theaters, but ended up becoming an enduring staple thanks to repeated airings on TV and elsewhere.

“Everywhere I go, people love ‘The Five Heartbeats.’ … “And they’re like, ‘Can you do a sequel? Can you do a sequel?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t think there’s a sequel here.’ ”

But he did see a possibility for a documentary about making it. That led him to produce “Making the Five Heartbeats,” a documentary outlining the journey. Now he’s nominated for an NAACP Image Award for outstanding film documentary. The 50th Image Awards were being presented in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Townsend said he doesn’t see his documentary on “The Five Heartbeats” as validation, but a capsule on a film that has become a part of black film history.