The Academy Awards telecast was the first occasion to see the trailer for Questlove’s documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). The film’s premiere is set for July 2, 2021 on Hulu.
As Rolling Stone reports, the film focuses on the little-known history of the Harlem Cultural Festival, dubbed “the Black Woodstock,” which took place the same summer as Woodstock in 1969, over the course of six weeks at Harlem’s Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park).
The lineup included never-before-seen footage from Sly and the Family Stone (the subject of Questlove’s next film, he recently announced), Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and more. The clip pairs some of these performances with “the cultural and sociopolitical upheaval happening at the time.”
Summer of Soul, Questlove’s directorial debut, had its world premiere in February at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was awarded both the U.S. Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the U.S. Documentary category.
After receiving the prize, Questlove said that “it has always been a dream of mine to direct films and telling this story has truly been an amazing experience. I am overwhelmed and honored by the reception the film is receiving.”
