Summer of Soul (2021)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- The Harlem Cultural Festival took place the same summer as the famed Woodstock festival, and boasted an attendance on par with that concert 100 miles away. Over 300,000 people attended, yet it received virtually no coverage from the mainstream media. The 40 hours of never-seen-before footage has remained in storage for the past 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost - until now. It features many extraordinary performances by artists including Stevie Wonder, Sly and The Family Stone, Nina Simone, B.B. King, the Staple Singers, the 5th Dimension, David Ruffin, Mahalia Jackson, Ray Barretto and Gladys Knight and the Pips.
- Actors:
- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Chris Rock, Mahalia Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Abbey Lincoln, BB King, Nina Simone, Moms Mabley, Jesse Jackson, Sal Masekela, Sly and the Family Stone, David Ruffin, Mavis Staples, Hugh Masekela, Max Roach, The 5th Dimension, The Chambers Brothers, Gladys Knight & The Pips, John V. Lindsay, Cal Tjader
- Directors:
- Ahmir-Khalib Thompson
- Producers:
- David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel
- Others:
- Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joshua L. Pearson, Ahmir Thompson
- Aka:
- Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
- Genres:
- Documentary, Music & Musicals, Special Interest
- Awards:
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Reviews (2) of Summer of Soul
Harlem’s Forgotten Revolution - Summer of Soul review by griggs
Sometimes a film just sweeps you up, and Summer of Soul does exactly that. The footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival sat in a basement for fifty years, unseen, while Woodstock became the defining image of the era. What Questlove has done here is not just rescue history, but reframe it.
Each performance is edited together with a sense of narrative — Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, Mahalia Jackson — all flowing into a story about Black pride, politics, and community. The late ’60s were fraught: assassinations, civil rights battles, the war in Vietnam. Against that backdrop, this festival wasn’t just entertainment; it was resistance, joy, and survival played loud.
And what joy it is. The music is astonishing, the kind that makes you grin just watching people clap along. As a document it’s invaluable; as a film it’s a blast. By the end, you feel like you’ve been to the best party history forgot to invite you to.
Fascinating documentary - Summer of Soul review by AER
There is no better time to see Summer of Soul, it's a fantastic musical odyssey and document of a forgotten music festival that took place in Harlem, NY in 1969. What a year that was too! I think the DVD will be chocka with extras, I saw it at the cinema and it was a whistle-stop tour of the live performances interspersed with people that attended, the performers, and famous NY-based music enthusiasts. Directed by member of The Roots, Queslove, a renowned record collector and memorabilia fiend, he's perhaps the best qualified to put this material together in some semblance of order. It works as a good gateway to the black experience in 60s America, but if you are well-versed in the history already there's enough fresh material on show through the superb gig footage.
6 out of 10 - Inspiring and thank goodness it's been restored and shared at last!