Rumble In The Jungle festival film to get first screening at Glastonbury Festival

Ahead of its theatrical release in the summer of 2009, attendees of the sold out Glastonbury Festival will get the first opportunity to watch Soul Power, a documentary made from footage shot at the legendary 'Zaire '74' music festival.

The film shows the experiences and performances of such musical legends as James Brown, BB King (rumoured to be playing at the Festival this year), Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, Miriam Makeba, among a host of others. eFestivals believes the film will be shown in the festival's Cinema Field, which this year has moved to a new location on site, below the Acoustic Tent, beside the Kids Field on the east side of the site.

The film documents the 1974 coming together of the most celebrated American R&B acts of the time and the most renowned musical groups in Southern Africa for a 12-hour, three-night long concert held in Kinshasa, Zaire. The pipe dream of musician Hugh Masekela and producer Stewart Levine, this music festival became a reality when they convinced boxing promoter Don King to combine the event with 'The Rumble in the Jungle', the epic fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, previously chronicled in the Academy Award winning documentary "When We Were Kings".

The artists who performed were at the peak of their talents and the height of their careers, and many of the festured artists were inspired by this return to their African roots, as well as the enthusiasm of the Zairian audience, to give the performances of their lives.

'Soul Power' has been crafted from the extensive footage which remained after the making of "When We Were Kings", which famously documented the epic title fight, but only briefly touched upon the Zaire '74 music festival. This footage has remained vaulted for the past 35 years, unused, and unseen, until now. The film is due to be released theatrically this Summer with Glastonbury Festival goers getting a special preview.

The only acts officially confirmed so far to play at the festival are Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band as Saturday night headliner, with Blur and Neil Young as the other headliners, plus Doves, White Lies, Echo and the Bunnymen, Fleet Foxes, Emiliana Torrini, Florence & The Machine, Lily Allen, The Ting Tings, and Franz Ferdinand.

This year's full Glastonbury line-up won't be announced until a month before the Festival. To see who has been confirmed, and who might be playing take a look at the eFestivals' Glastonbury 2009 rumours >>.

Glastonbury Festival is held for five full days from Wednesday 24th until Sunday 28th June 2009 at Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset.

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