Once Upon a Time in Harlem
“You are cordially invited to a film 50 years in the making.”
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.
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Cast
11 people
Aaron Douglas
Self (archival footage)
Also in
A Study of Negro Artists
Richard Bruce Nugent
Self (archival footage)
Ernest Crichlow
Self (archival footage)
Eubie Blake
Self (archival footage)
Also in
Scott Joplin
Pie, Pie Blackbird
Leigh Whipper
Self (archival footage)
Known for
Of Mice and Men
King of the Zombies
Arna Bontemps
Self (archival footage)
William Greaves
Self (archival footage)
Also in
Souls of Sin
That's Black Entertainment
James Van Der Zee
Self (archival footage)
Ida Mae Cullen
Self (archival footage)
Noble Sissle
Self (archival footage)
Also in
Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake Sing Snappy Songs
Junction 88
Romare Bearden
Self (archival footage)
Also in
Five
William Greaves Director · David Greaves Director Tamar-kali Composer
United States release October 16, 2026 · Produced in United States
Production
William Greaves Productions
Production
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English
Release dates
United States · January 25, 2026
Premiere · Sundance Film Festival
United States · October 16, 2026
Limited theatrical
United States
September 5, 2026 · Premiere · Telluride Film Festival
September 18, 2026 · Premiere · Camden International Film Festival
September 22, 2026 · Premiere · Charlotte Film Festival
September 25, 2026 · Premiere · Dialogues Documentary Festival
September 29, 2026 · Premiere · New York Film Festival
October 6, 2026 · Premiere · Mill Valley Film Festival
October 8, 2026 · Premiere · Houston Cinema Arts Festival
October 9, 2026 · Premiere · IFFBoston Fall Focus
October 11, 2026 · Premiere · Hamptons International Film Festival / Heartland Film Festival
October 12, 2026 · Premiere · Buffalo International Film Festival / Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
October 14, 2026 · Premiere · Orcas Island Film Festival / Santa Fe International Film Festival
October 15, 2026 · Premiere · Woodstock Film Festival / New Hampshire Film Festival
October 16, 2026 · Premiere · Middleburg Film Festival
October 17, 2026 · Premiere · Newport Beach Film Festival / Montclair Film Festival / Philadelphia Film Festival
October 20, 2026 · Premiere · Chicago International Film Festival / Vermont International Film Festival
October 23, 2026 · Premiere · Refocus Film Festival
October 25, 2026 · Premiere · Hawai'i International Film Festival / Virginia Film Festival
October 27, 2026 · Premiere · SCAD Savannah Film Festival
October 31, 2026 · Premiere · Denver Film Festival
November 1, 2026 · Premiere · Lincoln Center, New York
November 7, 2026 · Premiere · Indie Memphis Film Festival
Australia
June 5, 2026 · Premiere · Sydney Film Festival
August 8, 2026 · Premiere · Melbourne International Film Festival
Austria
October 23, 2026 · Premiere · Vienna International Film Festival
Belgium
October 8, 2026 · Premiere · Film Fest Gent
Brazil
October 15, 2026 · Premiere · São Paulo International Film Festival
October 28, 2026 · Premiere · Recife International Film Festival
Canada
September 15, 2026 · Premiere · Toronto International Film Festival
September 18, 2026 · Premiere · Atlantic International Film Festival
September 26, 2026 · Premiere · Calgary International Film Festival
October 2, 2026 · Premiere · Vancouver International Film Festival
November 21, 2026 · Premiere · RIDM Montreal International Documentary Film Festival
France
May 18, 2026 · Premiere · Cannes Directors' Fortnight
September 5, 2026 · Premiere · Deauville American Film Festival
Greece
October 4, 2026 · Premiere · Athens International Film Festival
Hong Kong SAR China
August 20, 2026 · Premiere · Summer International Film Festival
Iceland
September 24, 2026 · Premiere · Reykjavik International Film Festival
Italy
October 24, 2026 · Premiere · Rome Film Festival
Netherlands
November 21, 2026 · Premiere · International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Norway
October 15, 2026 · Premiere · Bergen International Film Festival
Poland
July 25, 2026 · Premiere · TAURON New Horizons International Film Festival
November 19, 2026 · Premiere · TAURON American Film Festival
Portugal
October 16, 2026 · Premiere · Doclisboa International Film Festival
Spain
October 25, 2026 · Premiere · Valladolid International Film Festival
United Kingdom
October 10, 2026 · Premiere · BFI London Film Festival
November 15, 2026 · Premiere · Leeds International Film Festival
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