Oscar-winning music documentary directed by Ahmir-Khalib Thompson (AKA Questlove), celebrating 1969's Harlem Cultural Festival, where performers included Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone,...
Oscar-winning music documentary directed by Ahmir-Khalib Thompson (AKA Questlove), celebrating 1969's Harlem Cultural Festival, where performers included Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, The 5th Dimension, The Staple Singers, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Sly and the Family Stone and more.
Held during the same summer as Woodstock, the fest celebrated African American music and culture while promoting Black pride and unity, with over 300,000 people attending. So why haven’t we seen this footage before? As well as showcasing the performances, Questlove goes in search of the answer.
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Sly and the Family Stone, a 19-year-old Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and more wow in previously unseen footage from 1969. 300,000 people were at the Harlem Cultural Festival, but few know about it - until this doco by The Roots’ Questlove.
99 %223 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® rating
98 %218 reviewsAudience score rating
"A kind of pure fan's love letter, but still a rich and joyful one to experience secondhand."
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Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly"As thoughtful as it is rousing..."
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Hollywood Reporter
Hollywood Reporter"Stirringly captures the moment when a sea of people in Harlem heard a grand series of voices and said, Yes."
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Variety
Variety"[Infused] with an honesty and realism."
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IndieWire
IndieWire"The lack of awareness of this event is another tragic example of black history being ignored. Only this time the record survived, and now we all get to share in it."
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The Guardian
The Guardian"A joyous piece of filmmaking..."
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RogerEbert.com
RogerEbert.com"There is so much beauty in this film..."
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Little White Lies
Little White Lies"It's a sign of a good movie when it makes you think. The documentary will also make you laugh and dance."
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Film Threat
Film Threat"Thompson's subjects speak about the Harlem Cultural Festival as if it were a dream. Summer of Soul brings that dream vibrantly back to life."
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Screen Daily
Screen Daily"As much an essential music documentary as it is a public service."
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Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine"Bearing witness to something, the film seems to say, can sometimes be almost as important as the thing itself."
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Slash Film
Slash Film"Politics, music, fashion, history, religion - this is one of those super-smart cultural documentaries that has entry points from all sides."
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Time Out
Time Out"An absolutely infectious film to watch."
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Vox
Vox"Questlove revives this electric, never-before-seen, deftly edited footage..."
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Chicago Reader
Chicago ReaderSummer of Soul | Details
Award winner- Best Documentary at the 2022 Academy Awards and BAFTAs. Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize winner (in the US Documentary category) at Sundance Film Festival 2021.
- Rating
- PG-13,
- Runtime
- 117
- Genre
- Documentary, Music
- Country of origin
- USA
