Do you remember the 21st night of September?
Well, let six-time Grammy winner and Academy Award-winning director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson remind you — via the definitive documentary on the iconic group Earth Wind & Fire.
Earth, Wind & Fire is one of the most critically and commercially successful pop bands of all time: with more than 90 million records sold, 11 consecutive albums going gold or platinum, six Grammy Awards and indelible hits like ““Shining Star,” “Let’s Groove,” “Reasons” and, of course, “September.” The forthcoming feature documentary, which Questlove teased on social media as coming in 2025, will examine the group’s lasting legacy, cultural impact and enduring body of work with exclusive access to archives of visual, audio and written material, as well as the support of the estate of the late Maurice White and the band.
“Having been baptized in the Afrocentric joy river of this powerhouse unit, I’ve learned about them, I’ve learned about us & more importantly, I’ve learned and rediscovered myself in the process,” said Thompson in a statement announcing the project. “I’m so excited to be part of the process of preserving their positive but VERY vulnerable and real story of Soul, Self & Struggle.”
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In a joint statement, Earth, Wind & Fire band members Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson, added: “We look forward to this in-depth journey of our band, and are so excited to have Questlove directing the documentary.”
The documentary is financed by Fifth Season (“McCartney 3, 2, 1,” “Being Mary Tyler Moore” “Superpower” and “Kiss the Future”), which will also handle sales alongside WME.
The project marks Questlove’s latest foray into filmmaking after making his directorial debut with “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” which went on to win an Academy Award, as well as a BAFTA award, Film Independent Spirit award, Peabody award and the Sundance grand jury prize. The Roots frontman has also executive produced documentaries “The League,” from Academy Award nominee Sam Pollard, and Sundance award winner “Descendant,” from Emmy nominee Margaret Brown. The in-demand artist is also in progress on a documentary about Sly and the Family Stone. Questlove is represented by WME and Shawn Gee.
Questlove, RadicalMedia’s Dave Sirulnick and Samantha Grogin, as well as Broken Halo Entertainment’s KB White (son of late band leader Maurice White) and Kinfolk Management + Media’s Arron Saxe will serve as producers on the film, which will be produced in association with Sony Music Vision. Executive producers are Zarah Zohlman and Shawn Gee of Two One Five Entertainment (the production company founded by The Roots’ Questlove and Black Thought), Jon Kamen of RadicalMedia, Cheo Hodari Coker and Amos Newman.
“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to give audiences unfettered access to one of the most successful and culturally meaningful music groups in history,” said Mary Lisio, EVP of non-scripted development & production at Fifth Season. “We have tremendous confidence this will be a captivating exploration of the groundbreaking group and its rise to global superstardom.”
“Earth, Wind & Fire’s impact has been at the heart of popular culture around the globe for decades,” added Sirulnick, president of entertainment at RadicalMedia, which collaborates with Questlove for the fourth time. “We have many thanks to give, however this project wouldn’t be possible without the trust and partnership of KB White and Arron Saxe, for whom we have the utmost respect.”
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