ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM to premiere at Film Forum
The restored documentary captures conversations among Harlem Renaissance artists and activists decades after their last meeting.
Film Forum will present the US theatrical premiere of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM, directed by David Greaves and conceived and filmed by William Greaves, on Friday, October 16.
In August 1972, a reunion of Harlem Renaissance luminaries was held at Duke Ellington's St. Nicholas Ave. townhouse. Though many of these figures hadn't seen each other in 50 years, sharp memories, vigorous debates, and unsettled scores soon flow through the gathering, which features, among others, artists Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglas, and Richard Bruce Nugent; composer Eubie Blake; poet Arna Bontemps; photographer James Van Der Zee; and activists Richard B. Moore and Louise Patterson. After organizing and shooting the gathering, filmmaker William Greaves (SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM: TAKE ONE) was unable to complete the film before his death in 2014. One of the cameramen that day was his son David, who reshaped the footage into what Richard Brody of The New Yorker called 'a film for the ages…one of the greatest cinematic works of creative nonfiction that I've ever seen.'
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, was selected for the Directors' Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival and the Main Slate of the New York Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival, and screened at the Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more.
In conjunction with the Film Forum opening, a centennial celebration of pioneering African American filmmaker William Greaves (1926-2014), including documentaries, early acting appearances, and feature films, opens Friday, October 23 at Film Forum.
About the Film
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM (2026, 100 minutes). Filmed and conceived by William Greaves. Directed by David Greaves. Producers: Liani Greaves, Anne De Mare. Produced in collaboration with Louise Archambault Greaves. Editing: Lynn True, Anne De Mare. Composer: Tamar-Kali. Camera Crew: David Greaves, Doug Harris, David Hoffman, Jerry Pantzer. Archival Producer: Matt Hoffman. Featuring Regina Andrews, Eubie Blake, Romare Bearden, Arna Bontemps, Ernest Chrichlow, John Henrik Clarke, Ida Mae Cullen, Aaron Douglas, Thomas Harvey, Abram Hill, Frank Horne, Nathan Huggins, Jean Blackwell Hutson, Gerri Major, Richard B. Moore, Richard Bruce Nugent, Louise Patterson, Mrs. J.B. Matthews, William Patterson, Ruth Hill, Irvin C. Miller, Theodore 'Ted' Poston, George Schuyler, Noble Sissle, James Van Der Zee, and Leigh Whipper. USA. A NEON Release.
The film received support from The Ada Katz Fund for Literature in Film, The Helen Frankenthaler Endowed Fund for Films on Art, and The Roy Lichtenstein Fund.
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