While the USA was embroiled in a divisive election with racial tensions flaring, Civil Rights activist and trailblazing performer Harry Belafonte guest hosted The Tonight Show for one week in 1968. By then, Johnny Carson had turned this pioneering late night show into one of the most powerful platforms of communication. In an unprecedented move, Belafonte took a predominantly white institution, The Tonight Show, and transformed it into a multicultural and political experience.

Award-winning director Yoruba Richen examines the importance of this lost broadcast history through vibrant interviews with Belafonte, Whoopi Goldberg, Questlove, and guests who appeared that week including Petula Clark, Dionne Warwick, and Freda Payne. "The Sit In" features rare archival footage, including interviews with Dr Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, which are among the last television appearances before both were assassinated.

A film by Yoruba RICHEN

USA, 2021, Documentary - 1h 17m

Original Title: The Sit-In - Harry Belafonte hosts The Tonight Show
Language: English
Country: United States

Director
Yoruba Richen

PARTICIPANTS / APPARITIONS
Harry Belafonte
Whoopi Goldberg
Questlove
Petula Clark
Dionne Warwick
Freda Payne
Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy


2021 / 42nd DIFF - Durban International Film festival - DURBAN, South Africa - From 22 July-1 August 2021.
* Selection
www.durbanfilmfest.com/film/the-sit-in/