From 1968-73, American television pioneer Ellis Haizlip produced and hosted the variety show SOUL! as a showcase of the vibrant Black Arts Movement. The revolutionary show offered an unflinching, unfiltered celebration of black music, performance, literature, and politics. Mr. SOUL!, a labor of love by Ellis’ niece Melissa Haizlip, captures a combustible moment through urgent black voices, including Kathleen Cleaver and The Last Poets, who had few other options for national exposure. We meet featured guests—Earth Wind & Fire and a young Patti LaBelle, to name a few—at the start of their celebrated careers. The film invites us into a groundbreaking phenomenon, from its initial conception to its final broadcast, including the very public battle to keep it on the air amidst a shifting political landscape. (AG) Presented by Fresh Ideas