‘Once Upon a Time in Harlem’ Teaser Trailer – First Look at Harlem Renaissance Documentary by William Greaves

Here is the teaser trailer for William Greaves’ Once Upon a Time in Harlem, a film about the Harlem Renaissance that has been in the making for over 50 years,.

In the summer of 1972, Greaves gathered the legends of the Harlem Renaissance for a party at Duke Ellington’s townhouse, and footage of the discussions that ensued was later edited by Greaves’ son, David, into a documentary about these era-defining artists and intellectuals. The guest list of Greaves’ cocktail party included major figures such as Aaron Douglas, Richard Bruce Nugent, Eubie Blake, Noble Sissle, Leigh Whipper, Arna Bontemps, Regina Andrews, Richard B. Moore, Louise Patterson, John Henrik Clarke, and James Van Der Zee, among others.

William Greaves is one of the most significant American filmmakers of the past century. Best known for his experimental film, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One, Greaves was an influential independent documentary filmmaker who produced, directed, shot, and edited more than a hundred films on a variety of social issues and on key African American figures.

Once Upon a Time in Harlem will premiere in select US theaters on October 16, 2026.

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. For four hours, this extraordinary group – many of whom had not seen each other in fifty years – reminisced, critiqued, argued, laughed and drank while wrestling with their place in a rapidly shifting cultural landscape.

Shot on 16mm film, newly restored and now directed by Greaves’ son David, this landmark film is at once a self-exploration and an inquiry into the heart of the critical mass of energy called the Harlem Renaissance. William Greaves’ intent was not only to document these artists and intellectuals as they spoke about their lives and work but also to plumb the meaning of the extraordinary creative period in which they lived to help us better understand how culture has been passed on from one generation to another and the role that the artist plays in keeping it alive.

Watch the teaser trailer for Once Upon a Time in Harlem above.