'Summer of Soul' released
A new documentary looking at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival has been released
Last updated 21st Jul 2021
A new film Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), which tells the story of the 1969 Harlem Cultural festival, has been released.
The film - described as part historical record and part documentary - traces the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival over the course of six weeks, the same summer as Woodstock.
This remarkable event celebrated Black history and culture saw Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Sly & The Family Stone, Max Roach, Mahalia Jackson, B. B. King and many more perform to over 300,000 people during the course of the festival.
The feature film, directed by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, features extracts of 40 hours of never-seen-before footage shot by the pioneering Hal Tulchin, which had been in storage until now.
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) trailer:
You can watch the trailer for Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) below.
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) release date:
Summer of Soul originally premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January 2021, receiving critical acclaim, where it picked up the 'Audience Award' as well as the 'Grandy Jury Prize'.
In the UK, it opened at the Sheffield Doc/Fest on the 4th of June, before being released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on the 16th of July, and then made available exclusively on Star on Disney+ on the 30th of July.
The film was released on the 2nd of July 2021 via Hulu in the United States.