Film Forum

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM

David Greaves Conceived · 2026 · USA NEON · 100 min

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August 1972: A reunion of Harlem Renaissance luminaries is held at Duke Ellington’s St. Nicholas Ave. townhouse. Though many of these figures haven’t seen each other in 50 years, sharp memories, vigorous debates, and unsettled scores soon flow through this stunner of a cocktail party, 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 this extraordinary 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 expertly reshaped this never-before-seen, newly-restored footage into “a film for the ages…one of the greatest cinematic works of creative nonfiction that I’ve ever seen.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker NOTE: A William Greaves centennial series plays on our repertory screen October 23 – 29. Open Caption (OC) Screenings: Monday, October 19, 7:00 show Tuesday, October 20, 2:30 show Saturday, October 24, 12:15 show Sunday, October 25, 12:15 show Monday, October 26, 7:00 show Tuesday, October 27, 12:15 show