Premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, the movie featuring lost footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival picks up all six honors for which it was nominated.
- Nov 16, 2021
AceShowbiz - Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson's "Summer of Soul" film swept the 2021 Critics Choice Documentary Awards on Sunday, November 14, picking up all six honors for which it was nominated.
The movie, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, features lost footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, featuring Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, and The Staple Singers.
"Summer of Soul" landed the Best Documentary award among its haul and collecting the honor, Questlove said, "This is hands down the best night of my life."
"I've been in this industry for 30-plus years and I always thought celebrating something was a weakness," he additionally said in his speech. "When my first album came out or when my first book came out or my first day of teaching class, I sort of just pushed it to the side like it was nothing. I've learned that it's safe to celebrate an achievement so how ironic that this new journey in my life starts now."
The Roots star also picked up the awards for Best First Documentary and Best Archival Documentary, while Questlove also landed the Best Director prize.
There were also multiple wins for "The Rescue" and Val Kilmer expose "Val", and victories for Liz Garbus' "Becoming Cousteau", Edgar Wright's "The Sparks Brothers", and Todd Haynes' "The Velvet Underground".
About the 2021 awards, Critics Choice Association Documentary Branch president Christopher Campbell said, "We are proud to be able to recognize such outstanding work at this year’s awards gala in our return to a live event."
"It was a wonderful night of showcasing and honoring the best of the best in documentary storytelling, with a mix of fresh faces and veteran talents lauded by our members. We are excited for our choices to inform the choices of film fans everywhere, as the CCDAs continue to support nonfiction filmmaking and influence the growing audience for documentaries."
