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:

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (dir. Destin Daniel Cretton)

Peter Parker finds his responsibilities as Spider-Man tested in unexpected ways…

The Devil’s Mouth (dir. Jeff Wadlow)

A cave diving expedition turns into a deadly battle for survival…

The Dink (dir. Josh Greenbaum)

A former tennis prodigy finds an unexpected outlet in the game of pickleball…

Pinocchio Unstrung (dir. Rhys Frake-Waterfield)

A wooden puppet named Pinocchio makes horrifying plans to become a real boy…

Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender (dir. Lauren Montgomery)

Aang discovers a way to potentially bring back his Airbender culture…

Animal Farm (dir. Andy Serkis)

A group of rebellious animals take over their farm, but succumb to their newfound power…

The Odyssey (dir. Christopher Nolan)

King Odysseus embarks on a perilous ten-year journey home…

Rosebush Pruning (dir. Karim Aïnouz)

A wealthy family hides a disturbing truth…

Moana (dir. Thomas Kail)

Moana teams with the demigod Maui for an adventure across the ocean – but in live-action this time…

Evil Dead Burn (dir. Sébastien Vaniček)

A grieving family finds itself infested with demonic Deadites…

Optimized by Optimole