The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival is partnering with several local entities to celebrate Juneteenth and screen the documentary "Summer of Soul" at the Hot Springs Farmers & Artisans Market on Saturday.
"Summer of Soul (... Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)" is a music documentary by Questlove. Jen Gerber, executive director of the HSDFF, said she is excited to bring the movie to Hot Springs.
"We are so thrilled to be hosting a screening of 'Summer of Soul.' It is one of the biggest documentaries of the year. It premiered at Sundance this year and it won both the Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award, which I'm not sure that any film in the history of Sundance has done that," Gerber said.
"This will be one of the very few physical screenings that it will have throughout the life of the film. Even at Sundance, it was a virtual presentation, so we're really, really honored to be able to host that film here in our community and make it available and open to the public of Hot Springs," she said.
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"It is a phenomenal film," said Gerber, who watched the movie virtually at Sundance. "The film tells the story of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Arts Festival. It is primarily a music documentary that features never-before-seen footage of greats such as Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, and many many more."
After watching the movie, Gerber said she knew she wanted to bring "Summer of Soul" to Hot Springs. At the same time, several local groups were planning a Juneteenth event.
"I was introduced to Jackie (Ferguson), who's such a powerhouse, such a force in the community," Gerber said.
Ferguson is a member of the Stop the Violence Coalition and secretary for MLK Hot Springs and both groups were already planning to hold a Juneteenth event at the Hot Springs Farmers & Artisans Market, so Ferguson and Gerber agreed to merge their ideas into one big event hosted by MLK Hot Springs.
"I heard of her event and I thought 'Oh my goodness, this is the perfect opportunity to team up and work together to put on an amazing event in Hot Springs,'" Gerber said.
Ferguson said Juneteenth "commemorates the Emancipation Proclamation, but it started on June the 19th of 1865 when General (Gordon) Granger marched all the way down to Galveston, Texas, to let 250,000 slaves know they were free and had been free since 1863."
"The word Juneteenth derived from that -- June and 19th -- put it together to get Juneteenth, and it's basically a celebration in the African American community, celebrating freedom," Ferguson said.
"What we try to do in Garland County and Hot Springs with Juneteenth is we try to show diversity and inclusion. How far we've come from slavery to show where we are today. Today is diversified, we're all-inclusive," Ferguson said.
In addition to the movie, the event will have guest speakers, giveaways, free hot dogs and chips and there will be food trucks selling food. "We invite everyone to come out, no matter who you are or where you're from," Ferguson said.
The celebration starts at 5 p.m. and the movie starts at 7:30 p.m.