Full-time indie producer Jeffrey Levy-Hinte first started off his career by being the editor behind the Oscar-winning docu “When We Were Kings”. Apparently there was a lot more stuff left on the cutting room floor. Variety reports that one of the first deals to come from the AFM is Sony Pictures Classics‘ North American and Latin American rights pick-up to Soul Power — Levy-Hinte’s doc film which was recently featured at TIFF.
The verité-styled documentary details the 12-hour, three-night long concert held in Kinshasa, Zaire dubbed “Zaire ‘74” and featured perfs from James Brown, BB King, Bill Withers, and Celia Cruz. The film is crafted from the extensive “outtakes” that remained after making When We Were Kings, which chronicled the epic title fight between Mohammad Ali and George Foreman, but relegated the music festival to a small, supporting role.
Documentary film will obviously be a 2009 release.