''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 Sam Pollard may refer to: * Sam Pollard (missionary) (1864–1915) British missionary to China * Sam Pollard (filmmaker) Samuel D. Pollard is an American film director, editor, producer, and screenwriter. His films have garnered numerous awards ...

. The film tells the story of

Ellis Haizlip Ellis B. Haizlip (September 21, 1929 – January 25, 1991) was an American television and theatrical producer, broadcaster and promoter of African American culture. Haizlip is best known as the creator, producer and host of the television var ...

, the producer and host of ''

SOUL! ''Soul!'' (also stylized in uppercaseC. Gerald Fraser January 30, 1991, ''New York Times''. Accessed online 21 April 2008.) is a performance/ variety television program that showcased African American music, dance and literature in the late 1960 ...

'', 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 Chaz Ebert (born Charlie Hammel, October 15, 1952) is an American businesswoman. She is best known as the wife and widow of film critic Roger Ebert, having been married to him from 1992 until his death in 2013. Early life Ebert was born in Chica ...

, record executive Ron Gillyard, producer and director

Stan Lathan Stan Lathan (born July 8, 1945) is an American television and film director and television producer. He is executive producer and director of Black Entertainment Television, BET's ''Real Husbands of Hollywood''. He has produced and directed nume ...

, producer Rishi Rajani, producer Stephanie T. Rance, actor

Blair Underwood Blair Erwin Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American actor. He made his debut in the 1985 musical film '' Krush Groove'' and from 1987 to 1994 starred as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC legal drama series ''L.A. Law''. Underwood has ...

and screenwriter, producer and actress

Lena Waithe Lena Waithe (; born May 17, 1984) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series '' The Chi'' (2018–present) and the BET comedy series ''Boomerang'' (2019–20) and '' Twenties'' (2020–2 ...

are the executive producers of the film. In March 2021, it was announced by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences that “Show Me Your Soul” was on the 93rd

Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...

shortlist for Best Original Song. On June 6, 2022

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

winning actor

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony ...

announced that Mr. Soul! won the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

for Best Documentary.

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 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). The words of

are taken from interviews, news articles, correspondence and journal entries between 1968 and 1973. Ellis Haizlip's words are voiced by the actor

, who also serves as an executive producer on the film. “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.”

1968.

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. On August 28, 2020, Mr. SOUL! was released in limited theaters and virtual cinemas. Mr. SOUL!, made its public television debut on February 22, 2021, on PBS.

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

announced, Mr. Soul! will premiere on their streaming service on August 1, 2021.

Critical reception

''Mr. Soul!'' has received positive reviews and has rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 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."

End Title Song

"Show Me Your Soul" is the end title song by

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winners

Lalah Hathaway Lalah Hathaway (born December 16, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter and music producer. Credited as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, First Daughter of Soul", she is the first-born daughter of musician and soul singer Donny Hathawa ...

and

Robert Glasper Robert Andre Glasper (born April 5, 1978) is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and Arrangement, musical arranger. His music embodies numerous musical genres, primarily centered around jazz. Glasper has won five Grammy Awards from ...

. 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 The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 2021 ...

in the category of Music (Best Original Song).

Cast

as Voice of

Questlove Ahmir K. Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American drummer, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thought ...

Novella Nelson Novella Christine Nelson (December 17, 1939 – August 31, 2017) was an American actress and singer. She established her career as a singer, both on the off-Broadway and Broadway stage and in cabaret-style locales. Career Starting in 1961, Nels ...

* Carmen De Lavallade * Dr. Loretta Long *

Kathleen Cleaver Kathleen Neal Cleaver (born May 13, 1945) is an American law professor and activist, known for her involvement with the Black Power movement and the Black Panther Party. Early life Juette Kathleen Neal was born in Dallas, Texas, on May 13, 1 ...

* Ronald Bell *

Kool & The Gang Kool & the Gang is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B, soul music, soul, and funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964. Its founding members include brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell (musician), Ronald Bell (also known as " ...

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Smith (born October 29, 1945) known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Smith on October 29, 1945, in New York City to Gertrude Melba ...

Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. (June 7, 1943 – December 9, 2024) was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator. One of the world's best-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recor ...

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting, production and recording duo composed of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carol ...

Sonia Sanchez Sonia Sanchez (born Wilsonia Benita Driver; September 8, 1934) is an American poet, writer, and professor. She was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement and has written over a dozen books of poetry, as well as short stories, critical essays ...

Felipe Luciano Felipe Luciano (born 1947, East Harlem, New York City) is a poet, community activist, journalist, media personality, and politician. He is of Afro-Puerto Rican heritage. He is known for his significant involvement in both the Young Lords Party a ...

* Louis J. Massiah *

Black Ivory Black Ivory is an American rhythm and blues, R&B group from Harlem, which had a number of hits in the 1970s, including "Don't Turn Around (R&B Song), Don't Turn Around", "You and I (Black Ivory song), You and I", "I'll Find Away (Loneliest Man ...

Alvin F. Poussaint Alvin Francis Poussaint (May 15, 1934 – February 24, 2025) was an American psychiatrist known for his research on the effects of racism in the black community. He was a noted author, public speaker, and television consultant, and dean of stude ...

The Last Poets The Last Poets is a poetry collective and musical group that arose in the late 1960s as part of the African-American civil rights movement and black nationalism. The name was inspired by revolutionary South African poet Keorapetse Kgositsile who ...

Greg Tate Gregory Stephen Tate (October 14, 1957December 7, 2021) was an American writer, musician, and producer. A long-time critic for ''The Village Voice'', Tate focused particularly on African-American music and culture, helping to establish hip-h ...

* Christopher Lukas * Chester Higgins Jr. *

George Faison George W. Faison (born December 21, 1945) is an American dancer, choreographer, teacher, and theater producer, and winner of a 1975 Tony, a Drama Desk Award, and a 1991 nominee for the Emmy Award for choreography. He was a featured dancer with ...

* Gayle Wald * Dr. Billy Taylor * Sarah Lewis * Sylvia Waters *

Judith Jamison Judith Ann Jamison (; May 10, 1943 – November 9, 2024) was an American dancer and choreographer. She danced with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 1965 to 1980 and was Ailey's muse. She later returned to be the company's artistic di ...

* Robert Thompson * Sade Lythcott *

Obba Babatunde Obba may refer to: * Obba (town), an ancient town and former bishopric in the Roman province of Africa, now a Latin Catholic titular see * Oba (goddess), a Yoruba goddess ; Biology * ''Obba'' (fungus), a fungus genus in the order Polyporales ...

David Adams Leeming David Adams Leeming (born February 26, 1937) is an American philologist who is Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Connecticut, and a specialist in comparative literature of mythology. Biography David Ad ...

Leroy Burgess Leroy O'Neil Jackson Jr. (born August 20, 1953), known by his stage name Leroy Burgess, is an American singer, songwriter, keyboard player, recording artist, arranger and record producer. Burgess is a member of Black Ivory and lead vocalist on ...

Stuart Bascombe Stuart D. Bascombe (born January 20, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Bascombe is an original member of the R&B/soul vocal group Black Ivory who recorded a number of R&B hits in the 1970s, including "Don' ...

Russell Patterson Russell Patterson (December 26, 1893 – March 17, 1977) was an American cartoonist, illustrator and scenic designer. Patterson's art deco magazine illustrations helped develop and promote the idea of the 1920s and 1930s fashion style known as t ...

*Dr. Harold Haizlip *Alice LaBrie *Rev. Dr. Cheryl Sanders *Beth Ausbrooks *Mary Wilburn *Leslie Demus ;

Archival footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...

Anna Maria Horsford Anna Maria Horsford is an American actress, known for her performances in television comedies. Horsford is best known for her roles as Thelma Frye on the NBC sitcom ''Amen'' (1986–91), and as Dee Baxter on the WB sitcom ''The Wayans Bros.'' (1 ...

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

Sarah Dash Sarah Dash (August 18, 1945 – September 20, 2021) was an American singer. She first appeared on the music scene as a member of Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles. Dash was later a member of Labelle, and worked as a singer, session musician, ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Will ...

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

Earth Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling b ...

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...

Cicely Tyson Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson (; December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, she is known for her portrayals of complex and strong-willed African American women. She received sev ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and f ...

Arsenio Hall Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted a late-night talk show, '' The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014. He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', '' Comi ...

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The Delfonics The Delfonics were an American R&B/soul vocal group from Philadelphia. The Delfonics were most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their most notable hits include " La-La (Means I Love You)", " Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)", "Bre ...

Mandrill The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is Sexual dimorphism, sexually ...

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Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

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* Minister Louis Farrakhan

Awards and accolades

Mr. SOUL! received 32 Nominations and won 21 awards including 14 Film Festival Awards. On April 13, 2022, Mr. SOUL! was nominated for a 2022

in the category of Best Documentary. On June 6, 2022 actor Morgan Freeman announced that Mr. Soul! won the Peabody Award for Best Documentary.

References

External links

Official Site

Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
*
Mr. SOUL! PBS - Independent Lens
{{Black Reel Award for Outstanding Independent Documentary 2018 documentary films 2018 films 2010s English-language films English-language documentary films