Booking Ref
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised
Tue 24 Aug 20.45 (Auditorium)
Deftly interweaving incredible live footage with a series of revealing interviews, Summer of Soul captures the spirit and context of a watershed moment while tying it firmly to the present. ‘Summer of Soul’ is a feature documentary about the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival which celebrated African American music and culture and promoted Black pride and unity. Premiered at Sundance Film Festival to great acclaim, where it won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. ‘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. It is a piece of power-to-the-people-art, featuring dizzyingly rich footage that has been forgotten and neglected until now. A brief glance at the line-up reveals a remarkable list of talent including BB King, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight and Sly and the Family Stone. It is touching to witness concertgoers who were just kids at the time watching these terrific images. US 2021 Questlove 117m
Booking Ref
Daughters of the Dust
Julie Dash’s majestic first feature is a poignant portrait of three generations of Gullah women (descendants of West African slaves) at the turn of the 20th century as their family struggles with the decision to migrate from their sea island home off the coast of South Carolina to the mainland. ‘Daughters’ portrayed a new type of blackness and black identity – one located in a pastoral island setting still informed by myth and ancestral traditions. Dash’s perspective is determinedly feminist as she fuses together image, sound, authentic dialect and traditions of African oral storytelling to portray the power, beauty, and resilience of black women. Her vision and aesthetic sensibilities perfectly capture a forgotten moment of the African American experience and charts new ground in the representation of black women on screen. One of the key inspirations for the film work that accompanied Beyoncé’s Lemonade, this is a timely re-release for Dash’s powerful film. USA 1991 Julie Dash 112m
Thu 26 Aug 16.15 (Studio)
BOX OFFICE 01243 786 650
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