ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Harlem

Summer of Soul – A Revolution Resurrected

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1969. It is the year humankind set foot on the moon. The US is heavily involved in Vietnam. Men were being drafted, but there were growing protests. It is only a year after the murders of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. It was also the year of Woodstock, the amazing music festival that got out of hand. But Woodstock isn’t the whole story of music in 1969. A few hundred miles away that summer the Harlem Music Festival took place over six weekends. Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), winner of the Grand Prize and an Audience Award at Sundance, gives us a wonderful taste of that event that has long gone unnoticed.

Sly Stone performing at the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, featured in the documentary SUMMER OF SOUL. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

For six Sundays through the summer, the biggest names in Black music held court in Mt. Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park) in Harlem. Performers included Stevie Wonder, The Staple Singers, Mahalia Jackson, The Fifth Dimension, Nina Simone, Hugh Masekela, B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Sly and the Family Stone, among many others. Admission was free and there were estimated 50,000 people each week. And, it was all filmed! (So, then, why haven’t we seen it before? More on that later.)

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has brought together some of those wonderful performances and included some interviews with people who were there—performers and audience—to give us a hint of what that cultural experience was, and why it was important at that time in the Black community. This is more than just a celebration of the music. It brings forward the issues that were facing the community and the nation at that time—many of which continue.

Nina Simone performs at the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, featured in the documentary SUMMER OF SOUL. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

One of the issues that played a part in the festival was racial unrest. The year before, after the King and Kennedy assassinations, many cities experienced civil unrest. The city helped to sponsor these concerts, possibly in part to head off violence. When the police were slow to commit to the festival, the Black Panthers provided security. At one of the events, Rev. Jesse Jackson was part of the program to promote Operation Breadbasket.

That political setting is an important part of understanding the event (as is reflected in the film’s subtitle). The very concept that the culture of Black America was of value was a part of the larger racial revolution that was underway. But more than anything, this was about community. One of those who remembers attending as a child called it “the ultimate Black barbeque”. This was an opportunity for the people of Harlem to gather and find affirmation of their music and their culture.

The Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, featured in the documentary SUMMER OF SOUL. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

There is a spiritual aspect to that affirmation. Some of the acts performing were in the gospel tradition. We see during some of these performances how gospel serves as a bit of therapy to the harshness of the world. The height of this understanding comes as we watch an amazing version of “Precious Lord” with Mavis Staple and Mahalia Jackson.

Getting back to the question of why it’s taken over fifty years for this to come to light. Even though it was all filmed, no one really thought Black music was a market that would make it profitable. There was a pair of local broadcasts, but nothing beyond that. There is also a sense that those who made those decisions did not recognize the revolutionary nature of such an event. (Or maybe they did.) So it’s been hidden away all these years.

The festival is sometimes referred to as “Black Woodstock”, but I find that a bit off base. While both were amazing music festivals, Woodstock became famous more for the event itself. It was a countercultural happening. It was a crashed party that overwhelmed the promoters and the authorities. The Harlem Cultural Festival was extremely well organized and its sense of community was far more organic than the seeming community of the flooded fields of Woodstock.

Hugh Masekela performs at the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, featured in the documentary SUMMER OF SOUL. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

All these years in the future, we still struggle with racial inequality in our society. Summer of Love allows us to consider what progress has and has not been made in the decades since the Harlem Cultural Festival. It is a blessing that it has been brought out after all this time. Not just for the music, but for the revolution that we are still ready for.

Summer of Soul (…or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is in select theaters and will soon be available on Hulu.

Photos courtesy of Seachlight Pictures.

Day 3 at AFI Docs

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Today’s films reflect a look at history. That includes a look at a wonderful music festival from 50 years ago—that isn’t Woodstock, and an in depth look at one of the darkest days of recent American history.

In 1969 the world knew all about Woodstock. A few hundred miles away another music festival took place that has been hidden away for half a century. Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) takes us to the 6 weeks of the Harlem Cultural Festival that featured the crème de la crème of Black music at the time. We see Mahalia Jackson, The Staple Singers, Sly and the Family Stone, B.B. King, The Fifth Dimension, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and many more.

This is an amazing collection of musical history of the time, but even more it is a look back at the issues that were occurring fifty years ago, and that still are a part of society’s struggles today. Directed by Questlove, this film makes a point that music speaks of and to the struggles of people. The fact that this festival has been unknown for so long is a sign that we still need to hear these voices. Summer of Soul will soon be available in theaters and on Hulu.

As we draw close to the twentieth anniversary of the terrorist attack on America, National Geographic, in official collaboration with the 9/11 Museum and Memorial, has created a documentary series, 9/11: One Day in America. The series presents oral history from some of the people who survived that day: firefighters, people who escaped from the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. These are intimate, personal, and often very graphic and emotional memories.

The first three episodes of the series are having their world premiere as part of AFI Docs. Those three episodes begin just before 6:00 a.m. and move through 10:50 a.m., shortly after Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania. Part of the purpose of the series is to make this a human story. In our minds 9/11 has found a place in the American mythos. We politicize it. We make it about heroism (and that is a big part of that day). We see a big picture, but this series is about many of the pieces that are the human beings involved. Those human stories are to be treasured.

I’ll be honest. This wasn’t the top of my list to see during the festival, but I thought it was important to include. The way the stories are told by these survivors, with archival footage providing much of the visuals, is truly compelling. That is not to say it is easy to watch. This is not the kind of thing to binge watch. I needed to take a few breaks along the way to process all I was seeing and hearing.

And as always, I want to share some shorts. Today I’ll note a pair of animated shorts. They are docs, but done in animation. In The Train Station, Lyana Patrick very briefly (two minutes) tells the story of her father being sent to the Lejac Indian Residential School and his mother’s weekly long walk along the railroad tracks to bring him food and to help him keep his language The film doesn’t speak of what went on at the school, but rather celebrates how Patrick’s grandmother’s love helped to form her father to be a leader among First Nation people.

Spaces (Mezery) is an animated exploration of memory—and the loss of memory. It chronicles filmmaker Nora Štbová’s brother’s struggle with losing all short-term and then all memory as the result of a tumor. A touching and loving bit of her own memory of that experience.

Photos courtesy of AFI

If Beale Street Could Talk: Smooth Jazz and Social Commentary

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“Every black person born in America was born on Beale Street, born in the black neighborhood of some American city, whether in Jackson, Mississippi, or in Harlem, New York. Beale Street is our legacy.”

– James Baldwin, If Beale Street Could Talk

Set in early 1970s Harlem, If Beale Street Could Talk tells the story of Tish (Kiki Layne), a young woman who vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have deeply connected her to her artist fiancé, Fonny (Stephan James). Having known each other since childhood, the couple dream of a life together, yet their wistful dreams are thrown off-course when Fonny is unjustly arrested for a crime he did not commit.

Based on the book of the same name by James Baldwin, the latest offering from director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) weaves a complex narrative that entrances as it unravels. Featuring incredible performances throughout (especially from Regina King), Beale Street feels authentic in its portrayal of the African-American experience. Like Moonlight, Jenkins wisely opts to use relative newcomers in most of the key roles, allowing the audience to focus on the performances themselves as opposed to the film’s ‘star power’. While very different than Moonlight, Beale Street continues to showcase Jenkins’ talent as a storyteller and his unique ability to craft engaging and authentic characters.

What’s more, there’s an intrinsic beauty in Beale Street that serves as a reminder of the magnificence of life in the moment. Takes are long and slow moving, characters speak poetically and every scene plays out in such a manner as to make you appreciate every second. In a world where quick cuts and shaky camera work are used liberally to create tension, Beale Street wants you to feel every breath and note offered by its cast. In fact, the film seems to move visually like jazz, carrying the ebb and flow of musical transitions within its dialogue and structure.

While the pacing may frustrate those who are looking for the wildness of modern film, Jenkins makes no apologies for his style. Although the film takes place in 1970s Harlem, the film somehow feels timeless. Through his visual style and lyrical tone, Jenkins not only highlights the tragedies and brokenness of the African-American experience in ’70s America, he also celebrates every moment as part of a vast tapestry of life. The film recognizes that, in the midst of struggle and mourning, there still remains a sense that every second—and every soul—has value and meaning. We know that every moment in life matters, because every moment carries life within it. As a result, Beale Street is somehow both scathing and wondrous at the same time.

In the end, If Beale Street Could Talk, it would undoubtedly speak to the value of every soul that is encompassed within it. Emphasizing every breath and moment as something of value, Beale Street speaks life into the pain and suffering of its characters, offering hope in the midst of hopelessness.

Special features on the Blu-ray combo pack include commentary by director Barry Jenkins, deleted scenes, and the featurette, “If Beale Street Could Talk: Poetry in Motion.”

Kiki – Community for the Marginalized

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“When someone steps on to the ballroom floor, they’re not just competing in categories. They’re telling a story. Someone who walks says, ‘I am beautiful. This is who I am. I’m lovely no matter what you say, what you think. I’m beautiful.’”

The LGBT community is far more diverse than we may usually think. One subculture within that broader community is voguing, which combines expressive dance, elaborate costumes, and a ton of attitude. In New York City, young LGBT people of color may take part in the Kiki scene. This has been chronicled by Sara Jordenö in her Spirit Award nominated (for “Truer than Fiction”) documentary Kiki.

For those unfamiliar with voguing, you might want to think of it as “So You Think You Can Dance” through the lens of a Gay Pride parade. The film takes us into some of the Kiki balls, where various “houses” compete amidst a raucous revelry. The houses are in one sense teams, but they often serve as a kind of surrogate family. The heads of the houses are often called Mother and Father. This grows out of the marginalization that many LGBT people have had to deal with through their lives. Within these houses each person can find acceptance for who they are.

The diversity of the community is seen in the various people we meet. They each have their own story and find themselves on their own spot on the sexuality spectrum. We discover the labels we apply don’t always fit the way we think they should. (This is one of the reasons that Q [Queer] is often added on the LGBT. It signifies that the gender identification of some doesn’t quite fit the categories of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender.) Some of those we meet have stories of rejection, others have been accepted by their families, but still feel like outsiders in the world at large.

The film also takes time to highlight stories that continue to be important in the LGBT community, even as acceptance has grown through the years. Homelessness, HIV, and sexual exploitation in term of sex workers continue to be some of the things young LGBT people face as they try to find their way in a world that is often hostile to them. The community that has grown up around the Kiki balls is for some a lifeboat in a stormy sea. The voguing scene is not just about providing expression to marginalized people. It also provides community action that seeks to address some of the issues being faced.

For many outside this community, the extremes of dress and sexualized behavior may be disconcerting and perhaps even repellant. But the community that has been formed in the process is one that provides nurture, safety, and stability for many.

Photos courtesy of IFC Films