Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Can’t Be Television) is a 2021 American documentary film that follows the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival that ran for six weeks. A historical record celebrating black history, culture, and fashion. The stories told in the film come from concertgoers, musicians, and behind-the-scenes workers. The footage had never been seen before and was largely forgotten. Features include never-before-seen concerts by Stevie Wonder, The 5th Dimension, Nina Simone, Sly, and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Ray Barreto, Abby Lincoln, and Max Roach, and others.
Summer of Soul Release Date
The movie won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the US Documentary Competition. It had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 28, 2021, and is scheduled to be released on July 2, 2021, in the United States, by Searchlight Pictures, and digitally via Hulu. Also, the Summer of Soul movie will be distributed in cinemas internationally and through Disney+ under Star Content Hub and Star+ later in 2021.
Summer of Soul Movie Plot: Brian HoweThe documentary examines the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which was held at Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park) in Harlem and lasted for six weeks. Despite having a large attendance and performers such as Stevie Wonder, The 5th Dimension, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Sly and the Family Stone, the festival was seen as obscure in pop culture, something that the documentarians investigate. Tickets
Summer of Soul 2021 – First Official Trailer
Summer of Soul Movie Review
The result, maybe unsurprisingly, is a kind of pure fan’s love letter, but still, a rich and joyful one to experience secondhand. – Leah Greenblatt (EW)
A revelatory documentary that exhilarates and dismays in almost equal measure. – Ann Hornaday (Washington Post)
Questlove is the perfect person to make this film because he has such an encyclopedic knowledge of music and such a passion for it and that passion is infectious. Christy Lemire (FilmWeek – NPR Los Angeles)
SUMMER OF SOUL stirringly captures the moment when a sea of people in Harlem heard a grand series of voices and said, Yes. – Owen Gleiberman (Variety)
Watch it for everything that it is, a kind of miraculously unearthed treasure trove of music and politics and culture and soul. So much soul. Bill Goodykoontz (Arizona Republic)
SUMMER OF SOUL is as thoughtful as it is rousing, a welcome shot of adrenaline to kick off not just a film festival but a new year. – Sheri Linden (THR)
A forgotten, historical treasure not to be missed, see Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) to appreciate the joy and pain that blacks experienced in 1969 via their words; their music. – Wendy Shreve (Featuring Film)
One of the best entertaining concert films of 2021, Summer of Soul, emphasizes the importance of history to our well-being and spiritual values.. Olivia Wilson (tvacute)
