ASoul to Soul concert was held on March 6, 1971, in Ghana to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the West African country’s independence. The concert was also filmed as a documentary and released in August 1971.

The concert was an effort to start the beginning stages of a bond among Ghanaians and members of the African diaspora. The film included the live performances as well as the artists’ interactions with the citizens of Ghana.

Now, two decades later, in celebration of Ghana’s 69 years of independence, there is a re-release of the great documentary Soul to Soul in various cinemas across the UK. The film’s re-release is an opportunity to seize its powerful story on the big screen.

As reported by Garth Cartwright, Steve Scoville of Blue H2O Productions “restored the original edit by reconstructing each scene using the high quality 2K transfers from the original film elements, which were shot in the 4:3 aspect ratio.” The film’s soundtrack has been digitally remastered by Randy Perry, Cartwright added.

As previously reported by face2faceafrica.com, the idea of Soul to Soul was initially proposed by acclaimed author and poet Maya Angelou to the Kwame Nkrumah administration. The Nkrumah government was not able to bring the idea to fruition. Nonetheless, Ed and Tom Mosk approached the Ghana Arts Council about the formation of a show in 1970, and the council agreed. The Mosks were inspired by a show headlined by James Brown in Lagos, Nigeria, that occurred in 1970 as well.

The stars featured were Ike and Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett, The Staple Singers, and Santana, to name a few artists. Some of the Ghanaian musicians on the bill were Guy Warren, also known as Kofi Ghanaba, The Damas Choir, and The Kumasi Drummers.

Though the show was not a commercial success, Soul to Soul was a gesture in building the complicated relationship between Africans and African Americans. Though this notion was seen as a slow-moving train, it is showing promise.

Ghana’s “Year of Return” program has seen hundreds of African Americans visit the country to experience the history, culture and tradition firsthand.

It was an initiative by the government of Ghana to mark 400 years since black slaves landed in Jamestown, Virginia.

This initiative has seen an array of celebrities across the globe make their way into Ghana to explore, learn and appreciate their roots, as well as unite with Africans on the continent.

Steve Harvey, Nicole Ari Parker, Diggy Simmons, and Micheal Jai White, and Bozoma Saint John were among a host of celebrities to have spent a significant part of their month in Ghana when the initiative was launched.

In 2019, the country’s economy generated a total of $1.9 billion through activities related to the “Year of Return.”

The Tourism Ministry said at the time that the “Year of Return” had “cemented Ghana’s pan-African legacy and had put a global spotlight on the country and helped to position it as a historic, cultural and vibrant hub and had as well changed the narrative of what was reported about Ghana and the rest of Africa in general.”

In the year 2000, almost three decades after the Soul to Soul concert, Ghana became the first African country to officially open its doors to people of African descent from all over the world.

The West African country passed the “Right of Abode” law, which allows any person of African descent to apply and be granted the right to stay in Ghana indefinitely.

This was followed by the launch of the Diaspora Affairs Bureau under the foreign affairs ministry in 2014 to manage the migration and engage the diaspora to provide a sustainable link with various government agencies to achieve development and investment goals.

As of 2014, over 3,000 African-Americans and people of Caribbean descent are estimated to be living in Ghana.

Soul to Soul is in UK cinemas from March 6.