According to FlixPatrol, the most-watched movie on Hulu in the US is the documentary “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told.” The film tells the story of the festival, which became one of Atlanta’s biggest celebrations of Black Culture throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
The festival started as a college spring break picnic in 1982, and then quickly turned into one of the largest gatherings to celebrate Black music. Actually, the festival was crucial to help grow the careers of some of the biggest names in rap and hip hop, such as 2pac, OutKast, and Usher.
The film includes footage and interviews with legendary rappers and artists such as Lil Jon, CeeLo Green, Frank Williams, Killer Mike, 21 Savage, Jermaine Dupri, Too $hort, Uncle Luke, Jalen Rose, and more.
‘Freaknik,’ the documentary that sheds light to one of the biggest festivals
The 82-minute documentary was directed by P. Frank Williams, who is known for being a showrunner and executive producer. In an interview with The New York Times, he said that “It’s a throwback time of nostalgia when we weren’t all on our phone or always trying to take a selfie.”
“We were just enjoying the moment. It was about these young Black people finding freedom in a world that really didn’t welcome them, in a city that is one of the Blackest places on the planet,” he added.
In total, Freaknik only lasted for 16 years, running from 1983 to 1999. The movie tells the story of college students from Washington DC who came up with the idea for the event to give their peers something to do during spring break when they had nowhere else to go.
They planned a picnic, starting at Piedmont Park in Atlanta and later moving to the area of the Atlanta University Center Consortium, where historically Black colleges like Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark Atlanta University are located.
But what happened to Freaknik, and why is it now remembered as “the craziest party never talked about”? As the event grew in popularity, it also became harder to control, eventually leading to its downfall.
