Summer of Soul will appear at Sundance Film Festival in January 2021
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is set to make his directorial debut with the feature documentary Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised). The documentary explores the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which celebrated African American music and culture and promoted black pride and unity. It has announced that the film has been selected for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and will premiere on day one of the festival and has also been chosen to screen in the esteemed Documentary Competition category. The Sundance Film Festival will kick off on January 28, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA.
“As a first-time director I can’t tell you how much of an honor it is to tell this story. Not only a story of music but a story of issues we are currently dealing with now, especially in light of the fact that NO ONE knew this story! One of my happiest achievements,” Questlove shares.
It has taken over 50 years to get the film Summer Of Soul made. In 1969, during the same summer as Woodstock, a different music festival took place 100 miles away. Over 300,000 people attended the free concert series in New York City known as the Harlem Cultural Festival. The festival was filmed, but after that summer, the footage sat in a basement for five decades. Celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting black pride and unity, it has never been seen. Until now.
Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is produced by Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent, David Dinerstein, and RadicalMedia New York.
