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Once Upon a Time in Harlem
“A film over 50 years in the making.”
0.0 / 10• 2026• 1h 40m•NR• English
Documentary
Storyline
A decade after his death, genre-defying filmmaker William Greaves has one last trick up his sleeve with what he considered the most important event he captured on film: a 1972 party he engineered with the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance.
Cast & Crew
AD
Aaron Douglas
Self (archival footage)
LeadRB
Richard Bruce Nugent
Self (archival footage)
EC
Ernest Crichlow
Self (archival footage)
Eubie Blake
Self (archival footage)
Leigh Whipper
Self (archival footage)
AB
Arna Bontemps
Self (archival footage)
William Greaves
Self (archival footage)
JV
James Van Der Zee
Self (archival footage)
What People Are Saying
0.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. William Greaves's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
3.0
“Every frame feels alive. Once Upon a Time in Harlem is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
