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Ahmir Questlove Thompson cleans up at 2021 Sundance for his ‘Summer of Soul’ directorial debut
Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised), the feature documentary directed by the Roots frontman Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, won both the 2021 Sundance grand jury and audience awards in the U.S. Documentary Competition category. Drawing from archival footage that had been hidden and unseen in a basement for over 50 years, Thompson recreated the Harlem Cultural Festival, a massive music event celebrating African American music that 300,000 attended in the summer of 1969.
The film tells the story of the festival staged at Harlem’s Mount Morris Park on six Sundays between June and August 1969. It featured an all-star lineup, including Sly & the Family Stone, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Max Roach, Mahalia Jackson, and Mavis Staples.
