Disney+, Onyx Collective and Searchlight Pictures announce that award-winning documentary “Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised),” will be released exclusively on Star on Disney+ on 30th July.
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 now. SUMMER OF SOUL 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. The feature includes never-before-seen concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension and more.
SUMMER OF SOUL premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where it won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award, and has opened this year's edition of Sheffield Doc/Fest.
Announced this spring, Onyx Collective is a new content brand from Disney General Entertainment designed to curate a slate of premium entertainment by creators of colour and underrepresented voices. “Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised),” is the first official project under the Onyx Collective brand.