—OSCAR · 2027

Released16 Oct 2026

Oscar 2027

Once Upon a Time in Harlem

You are cordially invited to a film 50 years in the making.

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ABOUT THE FILM

Cast and film details

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.

Runtime: 100 min
Original language: EN
Genres: Documentary

Cast

AAaron DouglasSelf (archival footage)RRichard Bruce NugentSelf (archival footage)EErnest CrichlowSelf (archival footage)EEubie BlakeSelf (archival footage)LLeigh WhipperSelf (archival footage)AArna BontempsSelf (archival footage)WWilliam GreavesSelf (archival footage)JJames Van Der ZeeSelf (archival footage)

Selected crew

WWilliam GreavesDirector DDavid GreavesDirector TTamar-kaliOriginal Music Composer

Captured: 7 Oct 2026. View on TMDB ↗

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FESTIVAL CIRCUIT

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SundanceSelectedOfficial selection TIFFSelectedOfficial selection TellurideSelectedOfficial selection NYFFSelectedOfficial selection

MetacriticMetascoreBased on 10 critics

CRITICAL RECEPTION

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The Metascore is calculated and maintained by Metacritic.

See all critic reviews on metacritic.comChecked by Runscars on 25 Aug 2026.

More about this film

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