‘Summer Of Soul’s Questlove On The Power Of Discovery, Black America’s Joy & A Jimi Hendrix Secret – Contenders Film: The Nominees
deadline.com“I believe that a big reason why this ambitious idea of throwing a music festival in Harlem in which somewhere between 70,000 to 90,000 people every weekend would see performances was so that there was something joyous and hopeful for people at that point were kind of at the end of their rope,” Summer of Soul (Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson says about the importance the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival had to a Black America ravaged by violence and assassination.“It was a healing moment, if you will,” Thompson added during the film’s panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees event.
The Roots drummer, bestselling author, musicologist and now Oscar nominee made his feature directorial debut with the feature documentary.Having premiered at the virtual Sundance Film Festival in 2021, Summer of Soul took home the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the documentary categories in Park City.
Picked up by Searchlight Pictures and Hulu, the wonderfully trenchant film has scored a shelf full of critics awards, and a trio of IDA Awards last night.
The film is also up for a BAFTA and a Grammy, as well as the Academy Award for Documentary Feature.It’s not hard to figure out the acclaim and the exposure Summer of Soul has received.
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