Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

2021 · TMDB 7.6

Directed by Questlove

During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost — until now.

Stevie Wonder Lin-Manuel Miranda Chris Rock Tony Lawrence Nina Simone B.B. King Abbey Lincoln Mavis Staples Mahalia Jackson David Ruffin Sly Stone Hugh Masekela

Director · Questlove Producer · Joseph Patel Producer · Robert Fyvolent Producer · David Dinerstein Cinematography · Shawn Peters Editor · Joshua L. Pearson

Runtime: 117 min
Released: 2021-07-02
Studio: Mass Distraction Media
Country: United States of America
Language: English
TMDB score: 7.6

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Community reviews

Tim Laws

2026-06-12

Had no idea what this would be like when it started but as soon as I saw Stevie Wonder on the drums I knew this would be my thing. One of the best music documentaries I've seen. Gladys Knight and the Pips were amazing. Nina Simone was incredible and Sly and the Family Stone looked like they'd travelled from another planet to show people how it was done. The segment about the moon landings being met with shrugs from festival attendees, wondering why the money couldn't be spent feeding and educating people instead was both enjoyable and depressingly familiar. Until today, I'd heard lots about Woodstock 69 and it looked shit. I'd never heard of the Harlem Cultural Festival and it looked amazing. Why have they STILL not released the full footage from these shows?!