Our bodies may be roasting in the UK heat at the moment, but have you ever speculated on the essence of the soul? There is a point to that question: Disney-Pixar's new movie Soul arrives this November, and gets beneath the skin to examine our spiritual essence.
Jamie Foxx voices recently deceased jazz musician Joe. He arrives at The Great Before, a magical realm where abstract souls are invested with personalities, before being placed into human bodies. It sets in motion a classic voyage of discovery as Joe reconciles with the sum total of his life, and his passionate relationship with music.
And this Friday, we're getting a special panel discussion for the movie as part of S.O.U.L. Fest. (The acronym stands for 'Screening Our Unseen Lives'.) It's a partnership between Disney and Pixar, S.O.U.L Celebrate Connect, We Are Parable, The British Blacklist and The New Black Film Collective. And it's all designed to get to the heart of the question: what makes you, you?
Filmmakers Pete Docter (who won an Oscar for Inside Out), Kemp Powers, producer Dana Murray and more will discuss the process of making Soul and the progress of diverse representation in animation. The festival will also showcase online previews of exciting new projects, including Real, the directorial debut of actor/writer/producer Aki Omoshabyi, which played at the 2019 BFI London Film Festival.
The panel discussion will launch for free on BFI YouTube Friday 14th August at 7pm and will also feature on SOUL’s YouTube channel. You can also watch it live here on the blog using the live streaming link below.
Soul is due for UK release on 20th November. And don't forget that Disney-Pixar's Onward is currently showing as part of Cineworld's re-opening slate.
