Once Upon a Time in Harlem

In August 1972, the late documentarian William Greaves invited a flock of African American luminaries from the arts and intelligentsia to the home of Duke Ellington, for what would become a seminal gathering and celebration of the ‘Harlem Renaissance’ that came to prominence fifty years earlier. Completed by Greaves’ son, David, entirely from archival footage recorded on that night, what unfolds is far more than a collection of fascinating reminiscences from musicians, poets, writers, artists, and historians including Aaron Douglas, Leigh Whipper and Arna Bontemps but a passionate debate by architects of the black experience about their influence, their country’s troubled past, and their role in fashioning America’s future. The result is a fascinating, evocative and essential time capsule.

Sundance Film Festival

Cannes Directors' Fortnight