Tales of Summer – Summer of Soul – FREE OUTDOOR SCREENING

SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION
COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)
Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
2021, 1h 57m, PG-13, Documentary

co-presented with Friends of Morningside Park

In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary-part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was never seen and largely forgotten- until 2021. The feature includes never-before-seen concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Ray Baretto, Abbey Lincoln & Max Roach and more.

Winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize, SUMMER OF SOUL is a resurrection: a time capsule, a celebration, and a reckoning all at once. It shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past and present

“Sometimes these archival-footage documentaries don’t know what they’ve got. Not here. Here, the discovery becomes the delight.” 
–Wesley Morris, NY Times

“It’s a hell of an act of reclamation. And it’s damn near a masterpiece.” 
–David Fear, Rolling Stone

FREE ADMISSION