During the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement and Americas involvement in the Vietnam War piqued the interest of many European journalists and artists. Seeking answers, a group of Swedish journalists sought out key figures including Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Huey P Newton, Eldridge Cleaver amongst others. However, these interviews and associated footage never aired and were left in the basement at Swedish National Broadcasting Company.
Working from the original 16mm footage, director Göran Hugo Olsson avoids a "pop" take on 1960’s youth revolutions in the USA opting instead to draw a direct line to the present. Intercutting the archive with news reports and contemporary perspectives from subjects such as Harry Belafonte (who appears in the original footage), The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975 brings the archive into direct conversation with modern African American artists, activists, musicians and scholars.
Much like Agnes Varda's classic observational documentary, Black Panthers, the original footage bares the clarity of an outsiders’ perspective and under Göran Hugo Olsson’s direction begins a conversation about race in America anew.
– Kristy Matheson, Director of ACMI's Film Programs
