--- title: "Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)" year: 2021 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/summer-of-soul-or-when-the-revolution-could-not-be-televised" fi1m_score: 87 critics_score: 90 critics_reviews: 22 published: "2026-09-17T05:46:50.626488+00:00" updated: "2026-09-17T05:46:50.734692+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021) Directed by Questlove · 1h 57m · MPA PG-13 · Music, Documentary, History **Fi1m score: 87** · Critics 90 from 22 reviews *In a sentence:* Fifty years in a basement, and Mahalia Jackson still takes the roof off a park that never had one > Questlove’s first film as director takes the tapes of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, unseen for fifty years, and puts Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone and Mahalia Jackson back in front of a crowd. The music is extraordinary. We only wish he had let more of it finish. ## Synopsis Harlem, the summer of 1969. Over six Sunday afternoons in Mount Morris Park, the Harlem Cultural Festival puts Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Mahalia Jackson, Sly Stone and Hugh Masekela on one outdoor stage, free of charge, in front of a crowd that fills the park every week. Promoter Tony Lawrence hosts, in a different outfit each time. A television crew films all of it. No network wants the footage, and the tapes go into a basement, where they stay for fifty years. Questlove, directing his first film, cuts the recovered performances together with the people who were there, and with later admirers including Chris Rock and Lin-Manuel Miranda, several of whom are shown the tapes on camera for the first time. ## Review The Harlem Cultural Festival ran over six Sundays in the summer of 1969, in a park, for free, and a television crew filmed every one. Nobody would buy the footage. It sat in a basement for half a century, and that is where Questlove’s first film as a director begins. He has cut 117 minutes from the tapes, released in British cinemas on 16 July 2021, and we would send almost anyone to see it. Our one complaint is that he does not quite trust the tapes, and keeps cutting away to tell us how good they are. They are good enough to justify the fuss. Stevie Wonder leaves the keyboard for a drum kit and plays a solo that made our screening laugh out loud. B.B. King works a slow blues in the afternoon heat. David Ruffin, out of the Temptations, sings ‘My Girl’ and holds the last note so long the band has to wait for him. Sly Stone arrives in fringes and sunglasses with a white drummer and a woman on trumpet, and you can watch the older people in the crowd decide whether to approve. Hugh Masekela and Abbey Lincoln get a few minutes each before the film moves on. The scene that undid us is a hymn. Mahalia Jackson, unwell that day and unsure of her voice, asks Mavis Staples to start ‘Take My Hand, Precious Lord’, the song Martin Luther King had asked to hear the night before he was killed. Staples sings a verse. Then Jackson takes the microphone back, and the two pass it between them as if it were hot. Staples, interviewed now, watches the footage and needs a moment before she can speak. We have heard that song a hundred times and we were not ready for this one. Nina Simone comes late in the day, in African dress with her hair piled high, plays ‘Backlash Blues’ with her back straight and her eyes on the crowd, then reads a poem that asks the audience, several times, whether they are ready. It is not a rhetorical question and the film does not treat it as one. Tony Lawrence, the promoter and host, appears between acts in a new outfit each week and talks to the crowd as if he had invited each of them personally, which in a sense he had. The editor, Joshua L. Pearson, has the hardest job and mostly does it well. He cuts between the 1969 stage and the people who stood in front of it, filmed now by Shawn Peters in plain, close, well-lit interviews; several are shown the footage on a monitor so we see it reach them fifty years late. The best is a man who was a small boy in the crowd and has never had proof, until now, that he did not imagine it. He also cuts to the summer’s other news. Men walk on the moon, a reporter in Harlem asks what people make of it, and one man says the money would have been better spent here. Nobody on screen disagrees. The same instinct is the film’s weakness. Questlove wants the festival understood as well as heard, so nearly every performance is interrupted by a voice explaining what it meant: the year after King’s death, the Panthers on the streets, Afros replacing straightened hair. Much is worth hearing; some the footage says better alone. Chris Rock and Lin-Manuel Miranda are on hand to be impressed, and they are, and we did not need them to be. Songs are faded down mid-verse to make room. By the last half hour the film is hurrying, and the late artists get a chorus each. Most critics have waved this away, but a concert film that will not let a song finish is holding something back from you. The other festival of that summer, in a field upstate, got [*Woodstock*](https://film.one/film/woodstock) (1970) the following year and a place in every history of the period. This one got a basement. Watch it with the sound turned up further than is polite. The music was recorded for television and nobody televised it; the least you can do is make the neighbours hear. *Fi1m score 87, published 17 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews are unanimous: all twenty-two are positive. The praise gathers around the footage itself, shot at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival and unseen for fifty years, and around what Questlove has done with it in his first film as director. Critics keep naming the same moments: Stevie Wonder at the drums, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone. Nearly every review credits the cutting between performances and interviews with attendees for turning a concert film into a record of Black pride and politics in that year. Reservations are hard to find. The spread runs only from warm to rapturous, and the lowest scores come from critics who are still plainly enthusiastic. /Film alone notes that some of the historical passages drag before the music pulls the film back. Several reviewers dwell on the festival’s decades of neglect as much as on the filmmaking; none counts that against it. ### Reviews we read (22) - **Financial Times** (★★★★★): The critic calls it the film of 2021 so far, praising how the rescued footage has been sculpted like a born filmmaker into an irresistible time capsule with raw sizzle. They single out the jaw-dropping performances and graceful handling of the project’s heart for praise. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/3cf7f06f-d5a2-4bd9-8272-568686f89866) - **Little White Lies**, Leila Latif (3/5/5): Questlove's directorial debut vividly revives the forgotten 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival through crisp archival footage and contextual interviews. The critic highlights its broad scope in capturing Black American identity, politics, joy, and grief beyond a simple concert film. [Read](https://lwlies.com/festivals/summer-of-soul-or-when-the-revolution-could-not-be-televised/) - **The Telegraph**, Music Critic (5/5): The critic hails the film as a dazzling, joyous and emotional documentary that restores lost footage into a fierce homage to Black music and its ties to civil rights-era culture and politics. They single out the mind-blowing drum solo by a young Stevie Wonder and other glorious performances for praise. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/summer-soul-review-dazzling-dive-wild-groovy-volatile-sixties/) - **IndieWire**, Tambay Obenson (A-): The review highlights the joyous, pulsating panorama of Black pride captured in the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival footage and Questlove's debut as both celebratory and historically resonant. It calls the film a welcome addition to festival documentaries despite its buried history. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/summer-of-soul-review-questlove-sundance-1234611019/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Glenn Whipp (90/100, inferred): The critic praises the film as a rousing revelation of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival's music and cultural significance. It singles out the previously unseen performances and the way the documentary counters historical erasure of Black achievements. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-06-24/summer-of-soul-review-questlove-music-documentary) - **Screen Daily** (90/100, inferred): Questlove's Sundance premiere uses 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival footage to explore Black culture and its ties to the era's social revolution. The review praises the revelatory performances and the film's ability to make history feel alive and relevant beyond nostalgia. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/summer-of-soul-or-when-the-revolution-could-not-be-televised-sundance-review/5156298.article) - **Sight and Sound**, Devika Girish (90/100, inferred): Questlove's film revives footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, presenting it as a vital time capsule of Black music, culture, and politics in the late 1960s. The critic praises how it deftly weaves performances with interviews and archival context to highlight themes of community, mourning, and pride. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/summer-soul-revolution-could-not-be-televised-ahmir-questlove-thompson-1968-harlem-cultural-festival-doc) - **The Guardian** (90/100, inferred): The critic calls Questlove’s film one of the best concert movies of all time and an absolute joy. They single out the rediscovered footage of stellar performances by Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson and Nina Simone, interwoven with political context, for particular praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jul/18/summer-of-soul-review-questlove-documentary-harlem-cultural-festival-1969) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Sheri Linden (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Questlove's assured directorial debut for interweaving knockout concert footage with a capsule portrait of 1969 as a turning point in Black identity and charged reminiscences from attendees and performers. The result is a rousing yet thoughtful restoration of a forgotten cultural moment. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/summer-of-soul-film-review-sundance-2021-4116564/) - **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it one of the best films of the year for its joyful assembly of unseen concert footage. It highlights the music's power, especially specific performances by Stevie Wonder and Sly and the Family Stone, while noting the festival's historical context of Black cultural assertion. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/07/05/questloves-summer-of-soul-pulses-with-long-silenced-beats) - **The Times**, Kevin Maher (★★★★☆): The critic describes the film as an extraordinary documentary that brings incendiary stars and knockout performances to life from footage unseen for 50 years. They single out the grounding in political context alongside the thrill of the vital, propulsive music and imagery. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/summer-of-soul-review-a-thrilling-step-back-in-time-5t05kjqq6) - **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (90/100, inferred): Questlove's documentary unearths the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival as an essential, empowering event of Black music and pride that deserves recognition alongside Woodstock. The critic notes its smart cultural and historical layers alongside the thrilling performances. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/summer-of-soul-questlove-review) - **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (Critic's Pick): The critic hails the documentary as a revelatory concert film that captures a pivotal moment in Black American history and music. It praises Questlove's direction for blending spectacular performances with insightful historical context about cultural re-evaluation post-Civil Rights era. [Read](https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/summer-of-soul-review-ahmir-questlove-thompson-harlem-cultural-festival-1234891390/) - **Film Comment**, Devika Girish (85/100, inferred): The critic highlights the film's staggering lineup of 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival performances and the infectious energy of the crowds. The pleasure lies in the call-and-response between performers and audience that captures the era's heartbreak, rage, and hope. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/blog/film-comment-recommends-summer-of-soul/) - **Slant Magazine**, Chris Barsanti (85/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as an essential music documentary and public service that resuscitates the forgotten Harlem Cultural Festival through stellar performances and contextual narratives around politics and personal memory. It argues the event was every bit as zeitgeist-defining as Woodstock. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/summer-of-soul-review-questlove/) - **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (85/100, inferred): Questlove’s documentary is profound and joyful as it revives footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. It singles out the film’s blend of restored performances and contextual archival material to redress the erasure of Black history. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/summer-of-soul-review-questlove-documentary-concert-film-harlem-cultural-festival-1105167) - **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (A-): The critic praises Questlove's debut as a joyous and loving story that rectifies the historical erasure of the Harlem Cultural Festival, showcasing its cultural significance alongside powerful performances from legends like Stevie Wonder and Nina Simone. [Read](https://collider.com/summer-of-soul-review-questlove-documentary/) - **Consequence**, Clint Worthington (90/100, inferred): The critic describes Questlove's debut as a revelatory ethnographic text that captures the transcendent music and deeper cultural meaning of the Harlem Cultural Festival for Black communities in 1969, blending performances with historical context. [Read](https://consequence.net/2021/01/sundance-review-summer-of-soul/) - **Deadline**, Dominic Patten (85/100, inferred): The dexterous directorial debut unearths hidden history of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival through triumphal performances by legendary musicians. It melds festivity and fervor while highlighting cultural erasure and the battle against oppression. [Read](https://deadline.com/2021/01/summer-of-soul-review-questlove-sly-stone-nina-simone-sundance-1234683057/) - **/Film**, Ben Pearson (8.5/10): The critic praises Questlove's directorial debut as a joyous celebration of the long-forgotten 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, highlighting its stellar musical performances and the powerful case it makes for cultural preservation and Black pride. Some history segments drag a bit, but the electricity of the music and interviews overshadows the flaws. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/579113/summer-of-soul-review/) - **NME**, Leonie Cooper (80/100, inferred): The critic praises Questlove's documentary for finally giving the overlooked 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival its due recognition and ownership. Standout elements include powerful archive performances by artists like Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, and Mavis Staples alongside Mahalia Jackson. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/summer-of-soul-review-questlove-2986808) - **The Wrap**, Steve Pond (80/100, inferred): Questlove’s documentary is a vibrant document of an inspiring event in which politics and music are inextricably linked. It interweaves thrilling concert footage with the context of race relations and cultural flows in late-’60s Harlem. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/summer-of-soul-film-review-questloves-vibrant-concert-film-captures-a-pivotal-harlem-moment/) ## Details - **Director:** Questlove - **Director:** Questlove - **Cinematography:** Shawn Peters - **Editor:** Joshua L. Pearson - **Producer:** David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel - **Cast:** Stevie Wonder as Self; Lin-Manuel Miranda as Self - Artist; Chris Rock as Self - Artist; Tony Lawrence as Self - Harlem Cultural Festival Producer & Host (archive footage); Nina Simone as Self (archive footage); B.B. King as Self (archive footage); Abbey Lincoln as Self (archive footage); Mavis Staples as Self - Singer (archive footage) (voice) - **Runtime:** 1h 57m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 2 July 2021 - **Genres:** Music, Documentary, History - **Box office:** $4 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slFiJpAxZyQ ## Where to watch in the US - Disney+: streaming, hd - Hulu: streaming, uhd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $4.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-17.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HU, IE, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, SE, SG, TR, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Sundance Audience Award: U.S. Documentary 2021: Sundance Audience Award: U.S. Documentary (won) - Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary 2021: Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary (won) ## If you liked this - *Wattstax* (1973): Stax Records plays the Los Angeles Coliseum; the crowd interviews are as good as the music. - *Amazing Grace* (2018): Aretha Franklin’s 1972 gospel recording, another film left in a drawer for decades. - *Woodstock* (1970), Fi1m 80: The festival that did get televised, three hours of mud, split screens and Hendrix. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/woodstock.md) - *Stop Making Sense* (1984): Talking Heads build a stage song by song; the cleanest concert film ever cut. - *Buena Vista Social Club* (1999), Fi1m 76: Elderly Cuban musicians rediscovered late, and filmed with the same unhurried respect. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/buena-vista-social-club.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/summer-of-soul-or-when-the-revolution-could-not-be-televised