Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibilityOnce Upon A Time In Harlem | 2026 Sundance Film Festival
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Once Upon A Time In Harlem

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United States2026100 minEnglish
Once Upon A Time In Harlem

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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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.

Already an established documentarian and having just made Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One, William Greaves gathered some of the key artists, musicians, librarians, poets, journalists, actors, photographers, teachers, and critics of the Harlem Renaissance at Duke Ellington’s home for a party, which he filmed. The resulting lively conversations, built around vivid retelling of past events, are in part old friends reconnecting, in part a rehashing of familiar conflicts, and in part personal memories becoming recorded history. Co-directed by his son David Greaves, who was a cameraman that day at Ellington’s apartment, Once Upon A Time In Harlem is a staggering achievement, both as a record of one of the most significant artistic movements in American history, and also as a chronicle of the magical power of art and its creation to remake our world. — SS

Available in person only.

PremieresAll FeaturesBIPOC StoriesNonfictionClosed CaptionOpen CaptionU.S. Only- less

Credits

  • Director(s)

    William Greaves

    David Greaves

  • Producers

    Liani Greaves

    Anne de Mare

  • Edited By

    Lynn True

    Anne de Mare

  • Composer

    Tamar-kali

  • Camera Crew

    David Greaves

    Doug Harris

    David Hoffman

    Jerry Pantzer

  • Sound

    Clive Davidson

    Roland Mitchell

  • Sound Design and Mix by

    Mike Frank

  • Titles

    Sean Donnelly

  • Archival Producer

    Matt Hoffman

  • Graphic Design

    Yen Tan

  • Contact

    Liani Greaves

    liani@wgprodinc.com

Meet the Artist

Panelist Name

William Greaves

    Throughout his genre-defying career, filmmaker William Greaves was the producer, writer, director, cinematographer, and editor of 79 films. Spanning documentary, narrative, and hybrid forms, the films tell a vast, complex story about the major figures engaged in the fight for social justice, equal opportunity, and basic respect.

    Panelist Name

    David Greaves

    • Instagram

    David Greaves is an award-winning filmmaker and journalist. He worked as cinematographer and editor on many of his father William Greaves’ films, including the famed feature film Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One. Significantly, he was one of the original cameramen during the 1972 shoot for Once Upon A Time In Harlem.

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