Airdate: Heart and Soul

ABC3 will air a new locally-produced documentary series following the highs and lows of Geelong teen soul band, Sweetheart.

Heart & Soul is a thirteen part series by 1440 Productions filmed over a year, when Sweethearts performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival and unexpectedly headlined a night at Italy’s Porretta Soul Festival.

ABC3’s Head of Programming and Acquisitions, Barbara Uecker, had no hesitation in bringing Heart & Soul into the broadcaster’s stable. “I immediately fell in love with the show, and it’s been a delight to work with the highly talented team at 1440 Productions. I am sure our audience will love Heart & Soul, and be absolutely inspired by it.”

“There were no guarantees the Sweethearts would even get to Europe, let alone headline a festival along with some of the world’s greatest soul acts. I think audiences will be fascinated by this rare look behind the scenes – and they’ll be won over by the music and the band,” said Series Producer Kristy Fuller.

When a third of the thirty-piece band is set to graduate school and leave, it creates a huge hole. A European festival tour looms, and for the first time in the band’s history, the graduates are allowed to stay on to strengthen the line-up. But is this strategy doomed to backfire?

It’s a rocky road to Europe as tensions build, members quit, and heartbreak and triumphs are played out onstage at some of the world’s biggest music festivals. For Sweethearts, the hardest lesson is learning when to let go.

12pm Sunday May 26 ABC3.