PREVIEW: Summer of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (12A)

WHO’S IN IT?

(as themselves) Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Moms Mabley, Mahalia Jackson, Abbey Lincoln, Jesse Jackson, Chris Rock, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sal Masekela, David Ruffin, Mavis Staples, Sly and the Family Stone, The 5th Dimension, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Chambers Brothers, Max Roach, John V. Lindsay, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Ray Barretto, Cal Tjader, Babatunde Olatunji, Hugh Masekela, Mongo Santamaria, Greg Tate, Herbie Mann, Denise Oliver-Velez, The Edwin Hawkins Singers

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Ahmir-Khalib Thompson (film debut), director; David Dinerstein (Cries from Syria), Robert Fyvolent (Francesco) and Joseph Patel (New Garage Explosion: In Love with These Times), producers; Shawn Peters (An Oversimplification of Her Beauty), cinematographer; Joshua L. Pearson (Made in America), editor

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

In 1969, during the same summer as Woodstock, the Harlem Cultural Festival invited revelatory acts like Steve Wonder, Nina Simone and Gladys Knight to the stage for a major celebration of African-American music and culture. For the first time, footage of the festival – which had been sat on the shelves for fifty years – is shown in all of its glory…

IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?

Experience a euphoric documentary that recounts the legendary Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969, formed by director Ahmir-Khalib Thompson – best known as Questlove – from several hours of once-lost footage.

WHEN’S IT OUT?

FRIDAY 16TH JULY 2021

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?

IN CINEMAS NATIONWIDE, AND AVAILABLE TO STREAM EXCLUSIVELY ON DISNEY+ STAR FROM FRIDAY 30TH JULY 2021

 

Did you like this preview? Want to be updated on all the new releases every week?

Sign up to our e-mail service today, and get our latest reviews and previews sent straight to your inbox!

Search from over ten years of movies here:

Other recent reviews:

Giant (dir. Rowan Athale)

British-Yemeni boxer Naseem Hamed rises in the sport…

Hamnet (dir. Chloé Zhao)

William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes deal with an unspeakable loss…

Peter Hujar’s Day (dir. Ira Sachs)

In 1974, photographer Peter Hujar confides in his artist friend Linda Rosenkrantz…

Song Sung Blue (dir. Craig Brewer)

A musician and single mother form a Neil Diamond tribute band…

The Best Films of 2025: #15-1

The second half of our countdown to the very best films of 2025…

The Best Films of 2025: #30-16

The first half of our countdown of 2025’s best films…

Anaconda (dir. Tom Gormican)

Two friends find their remake of the film Anaconda going horribly wrong…

Sentimental Value (dir. Joachim Trier)

An actor is forced to confront her distant filmmaker father…

The Housemaid (dir. Paul Feig)

A young woman becomes the housemaid for an affluent yet disturbed family…

Goodbye June (dir. Kate Winslet)

A family must figure out how to bid their dying mother farewell…

Optimized by Optimole