The Peabody Awards finished announcing its 82nd class of winners this morning and you could argue it saved the best for last. Joining previous winners “Hacks,” “Dopesick,” “Sort Of” and “Reservation Dogs” were Barry Jenkins’ “The Underground Railroad,” the celebrated Netflix special “Bo Burnham: Inside” and the Oscar-winning documentary “Summer of Soul,” among others. Intriguingly, in its third year of virtual presentations, it was somewhat odd that Bo Burnham did not participate.

Continue reading ‘Underground Railroad,’ ‘Bo Burnham: Inside’ & ‘Summer of Soul’ Round Out 2022 Peabody Award Winners at The Playlist.

From “The Tonight Show” to the Oscar stage. In his remarkable directorial debut, Ahmir Khalib “Questlove” Thompson won the Best Documentary Oscar for “Summer of Soul: …Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” at the 94th Academy Awards. Questlove took the Oscar along with fellow producers Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent, and David Dinerstein.

READ MORE: “Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”: Questlove’s New “Black Woodstock” Doc Is Superb [Sundance Review]

Chronicling the long forgot 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival thanks to a treasure trove of footage, “Summer of Soul” first took the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

Continue reading ‘Summer of Soul’ Soars Winning Best Documentary Oscar at The Playlist.

The PGA Awards is always one of the longest awards ceremonies. This year, however, there was joy in the room as it returned to an in-person event and fine career honoring acceptance speeches by Kathleen Kennedy, George Lucas, Greg Berlanti, and Issa Rae. Oh and the Best Picture race got interesting as “CODA” took the theatrical prize.

READ MORE: Jane Campion, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Barry Jenkins win at 2022 DGA Awards

“Summer or Soul” took the Documentary prize.

Continue reading ‘CODA’ Takes Top Prize AT 2022 PGA Awards at The Playlist.

A weekend of multiple awards ceremonies meant a number of no-shows at the 2022 BAFTA Film Awards, but that didn’t diminish the star power across the pond. Lady Gaga, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and Emma Watson, among others, brought the paps to the BAFTA’s red carpet and, the BAFTA voters? Well, overall they spread the love, but Jane Campion and “The Power of the Dog” came out decidedly on top.

Continue reading ‘The Power of the Dog’ Takes Best Film At 2022 BAFTA Awards at The Playlist.

The Oscar for Best Documentary is likely going to Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s “Summer of Soul,” but the 2022 IDA Awards gave its main competitor a notable boost. Jonas Poher Rasmussen‘s “Flee,” which made history as the only film to earn Documentary, Animated, and International Oscar nominations, took Best Feature. “Summer” took four honors including Direction and Editing.

READ MORE: “Flee” is a stellar exploration of refugee trauma [Review]

A complete list of this year’s nominees and winners are as follows:

Best Feature Nominees

Apenas el sol (Nothing but the Sun) (Switzerland, Paraguay/ Film republic.

Continue reading ‘Flee’ Wins Best Feature At 2022 IDA Awards at The Playlist.

There were few surprises among the shortlisted films announced for the 2022 Documentary Film Oscar but, as always there was at least one. While “Summer of Soul,” “The Rescue” and “Flee” (also earning an International Film shortlist mention) were expected, “Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry” was definitely not. It was one of two Apple TV+ shortlisted docs this year alongside Todd Haynes’ “The Velvet Underground.”

READ MORE: “Summer of Soul” and “Flee’ lead 2021 IDA Awards nominations

One of the most competitive categories (and often head-scratching) of them all, it’s no surprise there were a number of high-profile snubs from this shortlist including Edgar Wright’s “The Sparks Brothers,” Liz Garbus’ “Being Cousteau,” “Wojnarowicz: F**K You F*ggot F**ker,” and “North By Current” and “Jacinta.”

Additionally, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced shortlist selections for the Documentary Short, Live Action Short, and Animated Short Film categories.

Continue reading Summer of Soul, The Rescue, Flee Make Oscars 2022 Best Documentary Shortlist at The Playlist.

The New York Film Critics Circle anointed “Drive My Car” as the Best Film of 2021 and now the West Coast critics have had their say. After almost six hours of overall deliberations, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association also selected “Drive My Car” as their Best Film of the year with “The Power of the Dog” as runner-up. “Drive’s” Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe also won Best Screenplay.

Continue reading LA Film Critics Select ‘Drive My Car’ As Best Film Of 2021 at The Playlist.

We still haven’t reached the true halfway point of this year’s awards season, but the documentary race is becoming distinctly more clearer with each and every critics’ group announcement. Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee” and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s “Summer of Soul” are in one of the closest races for the documentary Oscar in recent memory. Each film took another step towards that honor with the announcement of the 2022 PGA Awards nominations

READ MORE: 22 Most Anticipated Sundance 2022 Films: “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” “Fire of Love,” “FRESH“

There is one other film trying to steal the crown and it’s Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s “The Rescue.” The duo previously won the Oscar for another NatGeo release, “Free Solo,” just three years ago.

Continue reading ‘Flee,’ ‘Summer of Soul’ Top 2022 PGA Awards Documentary Nominees at The Playlist.

After taking six Critics Choice Documentary Awards over the weekend, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s “Summer of Soul” was honored with four nominations from the 2021 IDA Documentary Awards. The 2021 Sundance Film Festival winner and expected Oscar Documentary frontrunner earned nominations in the Best Feature, Best Director, Best Music Documentary and Best Editing categories. The other Best Feature nominees include “Apenas el sol (Nothing but the Sun),” “Faya Dayi,” “FLEE,” “In The Same Breath,” “Jacinta,” “North by Current,” “Not Going Quietly,” “Wojnarowicz: F**k You F*ggot F**ker” and “Writing with Fire.”

READ MORE: “CODA,” “Summer of Soul” dominate 2021 Sundance Film Festival Awards

Other films with multiple nominations included Jessica Beshir’s “Faya Dayi” and Nicholas Bruckman’s “Not Going Quietly with three each.

Continue reading ‘Summer of Soul’ & ‘Flee’ lead 2021 IDA Awards Nominees at The Playlist.

One of the more prestigious precursors for the Documentary Oscar are the IDA Documentary Awards. While the International Documentary Association’s choices don’t always line up with the Academy’s, they can provide a snapshot of where the Doc race is a few months out. This morning, the IDA announced their shortlist for their 2021 awards and it provided good news for acclaimed docs such as “Summer of Soul,” “Ailey,” “Convergence: Courage in Crisis,” “In The Same Breath,” “Who Are You Charlie Brown?” and“Flee.”

READ MORE: “CODA,” “Summer of Soul” dominate 2021 Sundance Film Festival Awards

Up to ten nominees in each of the feature and short documentary categories will be selected from the shortlists.

Continue reading ‘Summer of Soul,’ ‘Flee’ & ‘Ailey’ Make 2021 IDA Doc Feature Shortlist at The Playlist.

Here’s what you need to know, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson is the drummer of the seminal hip-hop group, The Roots, also the band leader of the Jimmy Fallon show. Thompson is a musicologist, a renowned DJ, has a P.H.D. Prince, and has his own music podcast. It makes sense that Thompson would venture into making music documentaries. His directorial debut is, “Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised),” about what’s been dubbed the Black Woodstock, an epic Harlem Musical Festival in 1969, that featured many black legends of soul, funk, and rock that had been forgotten.

Continue reading ‘Summer Of Soul’ Trailer: Questlove’s Black Woodstock Doc Frees A Great Musical Treasure From The Vaults at The Playlist.

So… I guess we’re back? If you’re an American, chances are you’ve been vaxxed to the max already and or are probably awaiting your second dose, which should come quickly.  As we already noted, folks like Marvel are already flexing, welcoming audiences back to theaters, and well, that means nature is healing, right? Cinema is healing too, and with New York vowing to reopen fully on June 1, that probably means the rest of the country isn’t far behind.

Continue reading Summer 2021 Preview: Over 50 Movies To Watch at The Playlist.

In Theaters and on Hulu July 2.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021

In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary—part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park).

Continue reading ‘Summer of Soul’ Trailer: Questlove’s Celebrated Black Woodstock Doc Gets The Spotlight at The Playlist.

For the first time in recent memory, the Sundance Film Festival recruited just three members each for its competition juries. Even in the context of a virtual festival, that might have been a mistake after one film dominated the Dramatic category winning four awards. In very much a surprise, the crowd-pleasing “Coda” took the Grand Jury-Dramatic, Grand-Jury Audience, Directing (Siân Heder) and a special extra honor for its ensemble.

Continue reading ‘Coda’ Dominates 2021 Sundance Film Festival Awards at The Playlist.

The fact there are even 72 selections for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival is something of a miracle. The fall festivals had the benefit of movies that mostly shot before the pandemic hit in March. Outside of three selections originally set to debut at Cannes (a silver lining for Sundance), most of the narrative pictures premiering in January were shot at least partially after the virus hit North America. When there is a will, there is a way.

Continue reading 25 Most Anticipated 2021 Sundance Film Festival Premieres at The Playlist.