“Nobody ever heard of the Harlem Cultural Festival…Nobody would believe it happened.” – Black Panther Cyril “Bullwhip” Innis Jr.
That quote accurately described the cultural landscape for more than 50 years. Although more than 300,000 people were in attendance and General Mills-sponsored cameras taped it, the Harlem Cultural Festival was so unknown that it wouldn’t qualify as a myth. However, that may no longer be the case due to an almost accidental discovery of the festival’s footage by Roots drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is the first look at the festival for everyone except the folks who witnessed it in real-time. It also marks Thompson’s directorial debut.
With its subject matter hidden from public consciousness for multiple decades and a first-time film director, Summer of Soul has two big questions – what is the story here and is Thompson capable of telling it?
From a pure entertainment standpoint, very few come better than Summer of Soul, if at all. The list of performers is not just a Who’s Who of Black music, but music in general. The film serves Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pips, B.B. King, the Staples Singers, and Sly and the Family Stone all blessing the stage. That’s more than enough to meet the promise of soul, but those are also acts you typically associate with soul.
The greatest strength Summer of Soul has in the entertainment aspect is the wealth and diversity of soul acts it captures. Jazz, gospel, spoken word, and comedy all showcase their contributions to soul and Black people.
The concert footage alone was enough to make Summer of Soul a winner, but it transcends into something special when Thompson steps out of his musical wheelhouse and fully embraces his role as a filmmaker. The about-face materializes through his skillful arrangement of present-day interviews and archival footage documenting the seismic events from the 18 months leading up to the festival.
While it is standard to use such tools for documentary storytelling, Thompson’s use stands out because of its immersiveness. It gives you the who, what, when, where, and why, but you also feel it. With every anecdote from Harlem residents, historians, and festival performers and crew, you relive the tension building during that time, the urgency for relief, and the euphoria when a performer was on stage.
When I decided to watch Summer of Soul at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, I did so as a music lover who needed a good show during the pandemic. By the time the ending credits began to roll, I had received much more. I was more informed about a seminal yet hidden moment in our culture, more proud of being Black, and more determined to do my part to amplify and preserve our stories, even if it’s just within my circle. Honestly, that’s the beauty of this film.
It lives up to the title by giving one of the best concerts ever, but Summer of Soul is more than music. It’s history that everyone should know. It’s a reminder that Blackness and soul are multifaceted, with each piece contributing something meaningful to who we are. It reinforces how we survived where we come from and subtlety how we can move forward.
Summer of Soul marks a fantastic debut for Thompson and an entry point for more discussion about the Harlem Cultural Festival and other past and potential festivals in the same vein. Everyone, regardless of race or age, should experience this one.
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