TONIGHT! Searchlight Pictures “Summer Of Soul” [VIDEO]

“Summer Of Soul” originally premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this January and took home the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the US Documentary Competition.

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is a 2021 American documentary film directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. It had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 28, 2021, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 2, 2021, theatrically by Searchlight Pictures and digitally via Hulu.

The 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.

Production

Footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival was shot and later placed in a basement, where it sat for about 50 years unpublished. Producer Robert Fyvolent became aware of the footage, and eventually acquired film and television rights to the footage from its original producer, Hal Tulchin. Thompson expressed surprise that the footage sat for so long, as music had a large impact on his life and development, stating “What would have happened if this was allowed a seat at the table? How much of a difference would that have made in my life? That was the moment that extinguished any doubt I had that I could do this.”

Summer of Soul premiered on January 28, 2021, at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the US Documentary Competition. The film was acquired by Searchlight Pictures and Hulu. It will be released in the United States on July 2, 2021, in theaters and on Hulu, with the film also set to be distributed internationally in theaters and through Disney+ under the Star content hub and Star+ later in 2021.

On April 22, 2021, it was announced that Questlove would introduce the first trailer for the film during the 93rd Academy Awards, for which he served as music director. The trailer debuted on April 25, 2021.

The film will be released in theaters alongside The Boss Baby: Family Business and The Forever Purge