Rarely in recent months has the silver screen of the Castro Theatre been alight with film, or with a live audience in the seats. A couple Frameline films played there in late June, the campy drag comedy Shit & Champagne had its San Francisco premiere in August, and last month the Residents played a live reunion show on the Castro Theatre stage.

Otherwise, save for a few private events, there has been little activity at the storied movie house.

 

But another flicker of activity is sparking at your favorite place for flicks. SFFILM just announced a Saturday, November 6 screening of Questlove’s concert documentary Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). The documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival has previously only been available on the streaming service Hulu, and director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson will be on hand for a Q&A after the film with prolific Bay Area author Ben Fong-Torres.

 

“For me, bringing Summer of Soul to the Castro Theatre with SFFILM for an incredible screening is a perfect way to celebrate this film and this year,” Questlove said in a release.

The screening is part of SFFILM’s annual Doc Stories series of documentaries, a smaller offshoot of their annual international film festival. They’ll also be screening the prison riot documentary Attica Thursday, November 4 at the Castro, and additional films will screen at the Castro, the Vogue Theater, and streaming online. 

Tickets are available now for all Doc Stories programs. The Doc Stories film festival runs November 4-7, 2021.