by Henry Pham
This movie is a great way to go back in time and study history as if we are still in school. Once Upon A Time In Harlem focuses on a 1972 party engineered by William Greaves with the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance, an intellectual, cultural movement of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s just before the Great Depression. 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.
Made and unreleased in the 1970s, this new documentary film was finally released a little over a decade after the death of filmmaker William Greaves, who passed away in 2014. He filmed this documentary, while his son, David Greaves (also a filmmaker), serves as the director. Before his death, William had one final job: to provide a powerful, engaging story about what he considered the most important event he captured on film: the Harlem Renaissance. This story delivers heart, warmth, educational values, and lessons about African American culture, fine arts, and their institutionalisation. And the study of Black culture is truly (and additionally) breathtaking and extraordinary.
What is so special about this is that it includes interviews with individual figures who survived that period. They include American painter Aaron Douglas, photographer James Van Der Zee, and musicians Eubie Blake and Sissle. The Greaves perfectly pick up the pieces of the puzzle and really put their hard work into action by providing artifacts, footage, interviews, and sources on the Harlem Renaissance. It is what can be called the “beauty” of that informative style of artwork. In fact, this movie is so informative; as the movie awards season arrives, it would be an outstanding chance to be nominated for many awards, such as the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
Once Upon A Time In Harlem is, by far, one of the greatest documentary films of 2026. I did not learn about the Harlem Renaissance in my history class until I watched this piece. It’s easily (and emotionally) engaging, uplifting, informative, and keeps you educated. As a film critic in Dallas, Texas, who reviews a ton of interesting movies, it is a must-watch documentary for you, your family, friends, and students. It is also a required choice for many professional film critics, history teachers, and African American audiences. So I suggest you watch it without hesitation. Let me say this politely (and professionally): if you choose to skip it, you will not forgive yourself. So please give this movie a chance at your own time. It clocks in at 100 minutes.
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