Soul Power
©2008
"Zaire 74" - the landmark concert cum mini music festival, held alongside a legendary fight between boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, was chronicled in the documentary When We Were Kings. Indeed, Soul Power's director, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, was the editor of When We Were Kings.
This verité-styled documentary has been compiled largely from outtakes from the footage that was taken at that time. There was a great deal of footage, too (the film has a run time of 93 minutes, taken from over 125 hours of footage).
In this rendition, the music festival, which was a minor backdrop in the previous documentary, becomes the primary subject of interest.
We are treated to performances by legendary artists such as James Brown, BB King, The Spinners, Miriam Makeba, and Celia Cruz, as well as a number of popular local African musicians.
Soul Power will be of interest to fans of both soul music and world music, as well as people interested in the racial social climate of the time, and the significance of this event within that context.