Mr. Soul!

Last updated
Mr. Soul!
Mr soul movie poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Melissa Haizlip
Written byMelissa Haizlip
Produced byMelissa Haizlip
Starring Harry Belafonte
Felipe Luciano
Dr, Harold Haizlip
Nikki Giovanni
Ashford & Simpson Ronald Bell
Questlove
Novella Nelson
Stan Lathan
Carmen De Lavallade
Dr. Loretta Long
Black Ivory
Kathleen Cleaver
Sonia Sanchez
The Last Poets
Greg Tate
Kevin Powell
Christopher Lukas
Chester Higgins Jr.
Alvin Francis Poussaint
Louis J. Massiah
Narrated by Blair Underwood
CinematographyHans Charles
Edited byGiovanni P. Autran
Annukka Lilja
Blair McClendon
Music by Robert Glasper
Production
companies
Shoes In The Bed Productions, LLC
Distributed byShoes In The Bed Productions, LLC
Open Your Eyes & Think MF
Release dates
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Mr. Soul! (stylized as Mr. SOUL!) is a 2018 American documentary film produced, written and directed by documentary filmmaker Melissa Haizlip. The film was co-produced by Doug Blush and co-directed by Sam Pollard. The film tells the story of Ellis Haizlip, the producer and host of SOUL! , the music-and-talk program that aired on public television from 1968 to 1973 and aimed at a Black audience. It was released in 2018 and has since received 21 filmmaking awards. Attorney Chaz Ebert, record executive Ron Gillyard, producer and director Stan Lathan, producer Rishi Rajani, producer Stephanie T. Rance, actor Blair Underwood and screenwriter, producer and actress Lena Waithe are the executive producers of the film. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

In March 2021, it was announced by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences that “Show Me Your Soul” was on the 93rd Oscars shortlist for Best Original Song. [5] [6]

On June 6, 2022 Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman announced that Mr. Soul! won the Peabody Award for Best Documentary. [7] [8]

Synopsis

The film explores the five seasons of SOUL! against the backdrop of a swiftly changing political landscape. The film interweaves archival footage with rare performances and interviews from the SOUL! show, contemporary interviews with guests who appeared on SOUL! a Black women-led crew working behind-the-scenes [9] including Harry Belafonte, Nikki Giovanni, The Last Poets, Ashford & Simpson, Black Ivory, Sonia Sanchez, Carmen De Lavallade, Felipe Luciano, and Ronald Bell of Kool & the Gang. SOUL! gave exposure to popular stars like Stevie Wonder, Wilson Pickett, Al Green and Earth, Wind & Fire and underground artists, including McCoy Tyner and the saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and authors like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison, and activists including Kathleen Cleaver of the Black Panther Party and Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture). [10]

The words of Ellis Haizlip are taken from interviews, news articles, correspondence and journal entries between 1968 and 1973. Ellis Haizlip's words are voiced by the actor Blair Underwood, who also serves as an executive producer on the film. [11]

“The primary purpose of Soul! is neither to educate nor entertain, but to give people a chance to share in the Black experience. The show must do that first. Then it can educate and entertain. Soul! makes Blacks visible in a society where they have been largely invisible.” Ellis Haizlip 1968. [11]

Release

On April 22, 2018, Mr. SOUL! premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. The film was screened at 50 film festivals in 2018 and 2019 including AFI DOCS, BFI London, Heartland International Film Festival, Hot Docs, Indie Memphis, Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival, True / False Film Festival, Urbanworld Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival, and Pan African Film Festival, among others, and won more than 18 awards. [12] [13] On August 28, 2020, Mr. SOUL! was released in limited theaters and virtual cinemas. [14] [15] [16]

Mr. SOUL!, made its public television debut on February 22, 2021, on PBS. [17] [18]

HBO Max announced, Mr. Soul! will premiere on their streaming service on August 1, 2021. [19] [4]

Critical reception

Mr. Soul! has received positive reviews and has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 27 critic reviews, summarizing: "Mr. SOUL! aims an overdue spotlight on a groundbreaking chapter in the history of American public television – and the host who helped make it all happen." [20]

End Title Song

"Show Me Your Soul" is the end title song by Grammy Award winners Lalah Hathaway and Robert Glasper. The song, which is also written by Hathaway and Glasper along with Muhammad Ayers and Melissa Haizlip was on the shortlist for the 93rd Academy Awards in the category of Music (Best Original Song). [21] [22] [23]

Cast

Archival footage

Awards and accolades

Mr. SOUL! received 32 Nominations and won 21 awards including 14 Film Festival Awards. [24] [25] [26] [27]

On April 13, 2022, Mr. SOUL! was nominated for a 2022 Peabody Award in the category of Best Documentary. [28] [29] On June 6, 2022 actor Morgan Freeman announced that Mr. Soul! won the Peabody Award for Best Documentary. [30]

Accolades
Awards / Film FestivalCategoryResult
2022 Peabody Awards Best DocumentaryWon
2021 Black Reel Awards Outstanding Independent DocumentaryWon
2021 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards Best Music Supervision for a Documentary - Ed GerrardNominated
2021 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Documentary (Film)Nominated
Outstanding Writing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture) - Melissa Haizlip - WriterWon
Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture) - Melissa HaizlipNominated
2021 Cinema Eye Honors Outstanding Debut FeatureNominated
2020 Critics' Choice Documentary Awards Best First Documentary FeatureWon
Best Documentary FeatureNominated
Best Narration - Blair Underwood - Narrator, Melissa Haizlip - WriterNominated
Best Archival DocumentaryNominated
Best Historical - Biographical DocumentaryNominated
2019 FOCAL International Awards Best Use of Footage in an Entertainment ProductionWon
Student Jury Award for Most Inspiring Use of ArchiveWon
Best Use of Footage in a History FeatureNominated
Best Use of Footage in an Arts ProductionNominated
2019 Library of Congress Lavine / Ken Burns Prize for FilmFinalistWon
2018 International Documentary Association Awards Best Music DocumentaryWon
2018 AFI Docs Festival Audience Award - Best Feature DocumentaryWon
2018 All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival (aGLIFF) [31] Jury Award - Best DocumentaryWon
Audience Award - Best DocumentaryWon
2018 Dallas DocuFestMeta Media AwardWon
2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival Audience Award - Top 20 Audience FavoritesNominated
2018 Indie Memphis Film Festival Jury Award - Best Sounds FeatureWon
Audience Award - Best Sounds FeatureWon
2018 Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival HBO Jury Award - Best DocumentaryWon
2018 Audience Award - Best DocumentaryWon
2018 Out on Film Festival Jury Award - Best DocumentaryWon
Audience Award - Best DocumentaryWon
2018 Pan African Film Festival Jury Prize - Best DocumentaryWon
2018 Sound Unseen Film & Music FestivalSpecial Jury AwardWon
2018 Urbanworld Film Festival HBO Jury Award - Best DocumentaryWon
2018 Woodstock Film Festival Audience Award - Best DocumentaryWon

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References

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