Watch Clip From ‘Following Harry,' Tribeca World Premiere Doc On Legacy Of Late Harry Belafonte

EXCLUSIVE: When the activist, actor, and singer Harry Belafonte passed away a little over a year ago at the age of 96, the world lost a tireless champion for civil and human rights. In the 1960s, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the noble effort to break the pernicious grip of Jim Crow in the South. Later, he emerged as a leader in the movement to end apartheid in South Africa.

His credits on screen ranged from Carmen Jones in 1954, to White Man's Burden (1995), Robert Altman's Kansas City (1996), Bobby (2006), and his final performance, in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman in 2018. In the realm of popular music, he became one of the most successful artists of the 1950s and ‘60s.

Harry Belafonte at the 1981 Grammy Awards in New York City on February 25, 1981.

Despite his accomplishments in music, culture, and his seminal role in the Civil Rights Movement, when the Grammys played their In Memoriam tribute package early this year, Belafonte got only a perfunctory mention. That was hurtful to his family, including daughter Shari Belafonte.

"[A] two-second picture of him on the screen was all that was allotted," Shari wrote in an op-ed for Deadline on February 9, after the Grammys telecast aired. "Harry Belafonte was the very FIRST recipient of ANY color to receive a Platinum record. He was the very FIRST Black man to win an Emmy… Harry is the one who created #WeAreTheWorld, and yes, I was at the table when he first pitched the idea to Ken Kragen. The three of us were dining at a little place on Melrose Place, and Harry handed me a napkin and said ‘Take notes.’"

'Following Harry' poster

The Grammys may have failed to acknowledge Belafonte in any substantive way, but a new film documents his legacy and influence on a generation taking up the mantle of his social justice work. Following Harry, directed by Susanne Rostock, makes its world premiere Friday at the Tribeca Festival. Watch an exclusive clip from the film above.

"Following Harry begins with Harry Belafonte at the age of 84," notes a description of the film, "embarking on a deeply personal journey, disrupting injustice over the next ten years by passionately encouraging a diverse group of entertainers and activists to overcome soaring national unrest and anger, by believing that love has the power to redirect oppression into oblivion.

“The story unfolds like a poem punctuated by a collection of provocative and deeply personal ruminations from Belafonte,” the description continues. “Featuring conversations with Aloe Blacc, Aja Monet, Angela Davis, Jesse Williams, Phillip Agnew, Jamie Foxx, Carmen Perez, Matt Post, Chuck D, Talib Kweli, Rosario Dawson among others, the film encourages today's youth to use their strength to meet complex social issues with love, compassion, and a fierce determination to stand for justice. It's our turn to carry this forward.”

Director Suzanne Rostock and Harry Belafonte at the Sundance Film Festival January 22, 2011.

This is Rostock's second film about Belafonte, following Sing Your Song.

"Shortly after she premiered Sing Your Song at Sundance in 2011, Harry invited her to share space within his brand-new office located on the top floor of the Martin Luther King Building in Manhattan," according to a release. "In 2012, with the murder of Trayvon Martin, she was given the intimate vantage point of a first-hand witness to Harry's quest to engage the most influential and expansive minds of the youth, artists, and activists alike. The questions Harry raised, the answers he unearthed and the radical challenges he puts forth would create a riveting discussion on where we are as a nation, as a world."

Common

After the premiere of Following Harry, Tribeca co-founder Robert De Niro will present the annual Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award to musician-actor-activist Common. On hand for the ceremony will be Jesse Williams, Aloe Blacc, Aja Monet, Matt Post, Carmen Perez, RodStarz, Sean Pica, and more. Actor-activist Jane Fonda received the award last year.

Tribeca Festival's Deborah Rudolph writes of Following Harry, "It's an inspiring account of a cultural and civil rights icon filled with passion and personal reflection that illustrates the legacy Belafonte left behind and the continuation of his life's work."

Following Harry is an acquisition title. Theorem Media Inc. is handling sales.

In the clip above, Belafonte expresses his solidarity with younger activists fighting for a more country and world.

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