‘Mr. SOUL!’ Honors America’s First ‘Black Tonight Show’

Comedian/Actress/Producer Amanda Seales will guest host the upcoming Mr. SOUL! PREMIERE KICKBACK - a special online talkback celebrating the opening weekend of the award-winning film - Mr. SOUL! and the nation’s March on Washington weekend.

The film, opening Friday, August 28 in 60+ theaters in virtual cinemas, is a tribute and an important look back at America’s first “Black Tonight Show” that aired from New York on public broadcasting from 1968-1973 at the height of the Black Power Movement and the Civil Rights Movement.

Aptly titled SOUL!, this groundbreaking show was produced and hosted by Ellis Haizlip aka Mr. SOUL! He was hip, smart, innovative, political, and gay. In his personal fight for social equality, he ensured the revolution would be televised. And that Revolution was his TV show SOUL! - a unique television show celebrating Black American culture, art, life, love and community, which he shared with households across the nation in their living rooms every week.

The distributors Shoes In The Bed Productions and Open Your Eyes & Think MF will present a star-filled celebration/dialogue on Sunday, August 30 at 4PM PT/7PM ET online.

“With the current ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, and as our nation is on the eve of a great racial reckoning, Ellis’ mission, his show and the artists he gave a platform to have become even more important now. That inspiration and that courage during that time period is a road map for our young leaders and the movement today.”

When moviegoers buy a ticket to the film for this weekend, they will get a code for tickets to the kickoff. Visit http://www.mrsoulmovie.com; select the “screenings” tab; then choose the theater you want to support, and purchase your ticket. Once you purchase your ticket you have seven days to activate the link and 72 hours to watch the film.

Featuring rare live performances and interviews from the legendary Al Green, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, Sidney Poitier, Cicely Tyson, James Baldwin, Nikki Giovanni, The Last Poets, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, and many more, SOUL! was the first national show to provide expanded images of African Americans on television, shifting the gaze from inner-city poverty and violence to the vibrancy of the Black Arts Movement.

Hollywood Theatre is currently the only listed participating theater in Portland. More information is available at: http://www.mrsoulmovie.com.