Thunder Soul (2010)

Thunder Soul: Directed by Mark Landsman. With Craig Baldwin, Craig Green, Conrad O. Johnson Sr., Bruce Middleton. Alumni from Houston’s storied Kashmere High School Stage Band return home after 35 years to play a tribute concert for their beloved band leader who turned the struggling jazz band into a world-class funk powerhouse in the early 1970s.

“This is without a doubt one of the best films of the 2010 Seattle International Film Festival. I have never experienced such an intense range of emotions while watching a film as I experienced while watching this one. From nearly the moment it began, I could feel tears leaking from the corners of my eyes, coursing down my cheeks. Tears of pleasure. Tears of joy. Tears of awe. Tears of sadness and hope and inspiration and sheer delight. I have never been moved by a film as I was moved by this one. It documents the rise and fall of an infamous High School Stage Band and their reunion 30 years later to honor their teacher. But it is about so much more than just that. It is a film about the power of one man, one teacher, to touch the lives of his students in ways that go beyond measure. It is a film about standing up in the face of all odds and coming out on top. It is a film about breaking standards, beliefs, and the norm, a film about being the best that you are, putting your heart and soul into what you are doing, and the magic that that sort of energy and power creates. It is a film that is uplifting, inspiring, amazing, exciting, and joyous. It is a film filled with incredible music, incredible people, and more love, courage, and soul than I have ever experienced in my life… until now.”