Oscars: Questlove Says ‘Summer of Soul’ Best Documentary Win Is “Such a Stunning Moment”

Summer of Soul (… Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) took home the prize for best documentary feature at the 2022 Oscars.

Director and executive producer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson was at a loss for words while accepting the award at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Sunday night. “It’s not lost on me that the Harlem Cultural Festival is something that my beautiful mother and my dad should have taken me to when I was 5 years old, and …” he said, pausing and tearing up. “This is such a stunning moment for me right now. But this is not about me. This is about marginalized people in Harlem that needed to heal from pain.”

This is Thompson’s first Oscar, and came on his first nomination. Summer of Soul, produced by Onyx Collective, Concorida Studio, Play/Action Pictures, LarryBilly Productions, Mass Distraction Media, RadicalMedia and Vulcan Productions, chronicles the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, a powerhouse and free music festival that at its time received little media coverage but featured performances from Gladys Knight, Nina Simone and Stevie Wonder, among many others.

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He added, “Just know that in 2022, this is not just a 1969 story about marginalized people in Harlem. This is a story of, of … I’m sorry, I’m just overwhelmed right now.” As he paused, the crowd erupted in applause. Thompson added, “I’m going to get myself together, and I’ll thank everyone proper when I get offstage. … I’m so happy right now, I could cry. Thank you.”

Thompson also acknowledged his fellow nominees in the category: Ascension, Attica, Flee and Writing With Fire.

Backstage in the press room after his win, Thompson declined to discuss a shocking televised moment that directly preceded his acceptance speech, when Will Smith walked onstage and slapped Chris Rock after the latter made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Thompson did note about Summer of Soul that “even though most will see this as a Black history film, we also need to start reframing that Black history is American history. And to let people know that, you know, we had a hand in building this place.”

Co-hosted by Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes, the 2022 Oscars were produced by Will Packer and Shayla Cowan and aired live Sunday night on ABC.