The first trailer for Questlove’s documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), premiered Sunday during the Academy Awards telecast. The film will arrive in theaters and on Hulu on July 2nd.
Summer of Soul 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 juxtaposes many 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.
“It has always been a dream of mine to direct films and telling this story has truly been an amazing experience,” Questlove said in a statement at the time. “I am overwhelmed and honored by the reception the film is receiving.”
From Rolling Stone US
