Once Upon a Time in Harlem documentary premieres after 50 years

The documentary film ‘Once Upon a Time in Harlem’ has premiered following a fifty-year delay. Originally shot in August 1972 by filmmaker William Greaves, the project remained unfinished until his son, David Greaves, revisited the footage after his father’s death.

The film captures a gathering of surviving members of the Harlem Renaissance at the apartment of Duke Ellington. The footage includes intellectuals and artists such as Eubie Blake, Richard Bruce Nugent, and Louise Thompson Patterson. Through the framework of this cocktail party and supplemental interviews, the documentary provides an oral history of the Harlem Renaissance and explores broader cultural and social histories of Black America.

After receiving acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival, the film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a nomination for the L’Œil d’or, as well as at the Telluride, Toronto, and New York Film Festivals. It is currently playing in theaters via NEON.