Summer of Soul

A joyous Oscar-winning documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, this is a treasure trove of pulse-racing, heart-stopping live music footage.

Filmed but never shown at the time, the film includes rediscovered footage of young artists such as Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Mavis Staples and B.B. King.

A  year after the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, the Harlem Cultural Festival played out over six weekends and while Neil Armstrong was walking on the moon, a profound cultural re-evaluation was happening in Harlem.

This is the stage where Nina Simone first sang her new song, ‘To Be Young Gifted and Black’ and Mavis Staples duetted with Mahalia Jackson to sing Dr King’s favourite song ‘Precious Lord, Take My Hand’.

Combining news footage with powerful stage performances, the film captures the essence of a decade of tension and the galvanising time of civil rights and Black power.

As Gladys Knight put it, “It wasn’t just about the music; we wanted progress”.

Join us at a new venue, The Edward Alleyn Club, where we have wet weather cover if we are unable to screen outdoors. Licensed bar available.

FREE MAKES IT INCLUSIVE, DONATIONS MAKE IT HAPPEN 

As part of this year’s Herne Hill Free Film Festival we are pleased to be supporting again the Norwood & Brixton Food Bank, helping to raise awareness for this most worthy of local causes. Any spare change collected at each of our screenings would be greatly appreciated and donated* to help this wonderful charity continue the admirable work.

*After we have covered our production costs