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Sunday, JUNE 8TH, 2025

SUMMER OF SOUL

USA, 2021, Color, PG, 118 min

Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson; starring Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone

For those of you who are old enough, where were you in 1969?  Watching the New York Mets win the World Series?  Witnessing the first man set foot on the moon? Eagerly learning while watching a new program called Sesame Street?  Tuning into Laugh-In?  Did you make it to Woodstock?

Or maybe the Harlem Cultural Festival was more to your taste? Just one hundred miles from Woodstock, all told over 300,000 people gathered in Harlem on six Sundays to hear a stellar lineup that included Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, the 5th Dimension, Sly and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Max Roach and the Staple Singers.

During the festival, Tony Lawrence and producer Hal Tulchin recorded 40 hours of videotape. The tapes were then stored in a basement and remained untouched and forgotten for 50 years. Musician and first-time director Questlove discovered this treasure trove and interspersed the highlights with interviews and new footage. The result is a joyous and powerful documentary that opened the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and walked away with the Audience Award as well as the Grand Jury Prize.

Critics unanimously lavished praise on the film. One critic called it: “The best music documentary I’ve ever seen.” Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary, this film brilliantly captures a moment in time and celebrates performers and performances that define the best of our culture. (DS)

Editor's Note:   If you watched the OSCARS in 2021 and you don't recall seeing this film being awarded the OSCAR, that's because the presentation of this film's award was unfortunately eclipsed by the infamous "Slap Heard Round the World."  (kb)

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