Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Over six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, the Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park.

In his debut as a filmmaker, musician Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson presents a powerful documentary that’s part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion – and was widely ignored by the mainstream media of the time.

Featuring legendary performers like Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, and Sly & the Family Stone, alongside news clips and interviews with attendees, the film celebrates Black joy, identity, and progress and stands as a testament to the power of music in times of unrest.