20:06 PST 2/4/2021
by
Mia Galuppo
The document contains 40 hours of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, known as the Black Woodstock.
Disney owned Searchlight Pictures and Hulu acquired music documents, Summer of Soul (… Or, when the revolution could not be broadcast), a directorial debut for The Roots founder Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson.
The agreement was negotiated by Cinetic for global rights. The film is set to be released in theaters, as well as on Hulu in the US and internationally on Star and Star +.
Sources close to the deal say the sale is the biggest for a doctor in the history of the Sundance Festival, which beat last year’s record break Son state, which went to Apple for $ 12 million. (Before Son State, the biggest documentary sale on Sundance was in 2019 Knock down the house, which was sold for $ 10 million.)
Summer of soul, which premiered in the American dock competition division of the festival, focuses on the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969 (also known as Black Woodstock), which saw performances by Nina Simone and Stevie Wonder, among others, and contains 40 hours of archival material.
“I’m so honored to be able to reveal my dreams after all this time,” Questlove said. “It’s truly an honor. ‘Summer Of Soul’ is a passion project and it’s incredibly rewarding to have so many people resonate on so many levels.”
The acquisition was made through Disney General Entertainment’s BIPOC Creator initiative, led by Tara Duncan, who presented: ‘It’s rare to find a film that captures the breadth of the Black American experience and wants you to dance too, testify and sing aloud. “
David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent and Joseph Patel produced the document with RadicalMedia serving as creative and production partners. Davis Guggenheim’s Concordia Studio, which was also involved Son State, executive manufactures.
Producers Dinerstein and Fyvolent said: “It was overwhelming to see the audience rediscover this lost piece of history and fall in love with our film. As people struggle to recover their lives amid a pandemic, we feel that this film will bring joy, along with the necessary review of important social issues. ‘
The Doctor won big during the awards ceremony of the festival on Tuesday night, as well as the audience award and the grand jury prize in the American Doc Competition Division.