Hulu is set to release a documentary about the infamous “Freaknik” festival just in time for college spring breaks. The festival takes place annually in Atlanta, Georgia, and is attended mostly by students of historically black colleges and universities. The festival started as a picnic organized by the DC Metro club for students who could not afford to return home for spring break in 1983, but gained popularity and became a full-blown block party by the mid-90s. The festival was eventually shut down by the city in 1999, but was revived in 2019.
The documentary, titled Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told, will be executive produced by Geraldine L. Porras, P Frank Williams, Jermaine Dupri, Luther Campbell, Peter Bittenbender, Melissa Cooper, Eric Tomosunas, Terry Ross, Alex Avant, Nikki Byles, and Jay Allen. The documentary will recount the rise and fall of the festival and will include stories from those who were there.
While the release date for the documentary is still unknown, fans of the festival are already excited about the prospect of reliving the good old days of Freaknik. According to the official description of the documentary by Hulu, viewers will get to see how the festival started as a small picnic in Atlanta before evolving into a major cultural event. The documentary also poses whether the magic of Freaknik can be brought back 40 years later.
Several producers who worked on the series, including Jermaine Dupri and Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, participated in an oral history of Freaknik published in Atlanta Magazine. The article gives a sneak peek into some of the stories that viewers can expect to hear in the documentary.
However, some attendees of past Freaknik festivals fear that the documentary might highlight them for behaviors they no longer exhibit. They worry that past mistakes might come back to haunt them and ruin their reputations. This fear is not unfounded, as social media and documentaries have been known to uncover past behavior and bring it to light, even if the person has changed.Some attendees who have since moved on with life want answers to the looming question, what will be shown in the documentary, and why is it being shown at all?
Ahead of its release, we’ve received a found footage clip, from an anonymous source, that’ll ease your mind, especially if you’re curious if your mom was at the event.
See the clip below —
There is no official release date or trailer for the documentary, but it is expected to be released in 2024, possibly in mid-April to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the 1994 Freaknik celebration.
