Trailer To Melissa Haizlip’s Award Winning Doc ‘Mr. SOUL!’
Now online is a the theatrical poster and trailer for Melissa Haizlip's award-winning documentary, "Mr. Soul!", which is opening in over 50 cinemas across the nation on Friday, August 28th (click here for the full list of venues).
In 1968, America's first Black variety show, SOUL!, helmed by producer and eventual host Ellis Haizlip, premiered on public television. The pioneering series ran for six years, cementing itself as not only a vehicle to celebrate Black artistry, community and culture but also as a platform for political expression and a powerful force in the fight for social justice. In Mr. SOUL!, award-winning filmmaker Melissa Haizlip - the niece of Ellis - portrays in exquisite detail a revolutionary time in American culture and entertainment through vibrant archival footage and interviews with numerous Black luminaires who appeared on SOUL!, or were impacted by it.
While chronicling the journey of SOUL!, filmmaker Melissa Haizlip recounts the life and contributions of the late Ellis Haizlip, who was steeped in the New York City arts community prior to creating the show. Ellis quickly stepped into the role of host of his creation, where his earnest demeanor, low-key interviewing style, and his passion for the Black artistic community and their works - including books, the spoken word, music, film and dance - culminated in a show that depicted the Black experience in an utterly groundbreaking way. Haizlip's creation shifted the media focus from what was then uniformly images of inner-city poverty and violence, to instead shine a light on the vibrant contemporary Black Arts Movement.
Narrated by award-winning performer Blair Underwood, Mr. SOUL! features not only archival performances from music legends like Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind and Fire, and Patti Labelle, but also spoken word performances from the Last Poets and Sonia Sanchez, dance numbers from Carmen de Lavallade and interviews with James Baldwin, Muhammed Ali and Maya Angelou, among many others. Artists such as Harry Belafonte, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and actress Kathleen Cleaver share their recollections about the show and its impact on them.
