Once Upon a Time in Harlem

In 1972, he invited as many still-living representatives as possible to the house of Duke Ellington. The film footage he shot there was considered the most important of his career. He kept working on it, conducted additional interviews, but the film remained unfinished.

Until now. Son David, who was one of the cameramen at the time, completed the film; as co-director alongside his father, delivering a final masterpiece posthumously.

With his invitation, William Greaves, as he often did, forced a dramatic, historically and politically charged situation, which he then captured in cinéma vérité style. The stylish icons of the Renaissance, including Leigh Wipper, Louise Patterson, and Richard Bruce Nugent, are still full of fire. There are in-depth discussions, loud laughter, and poignant remembrances. The younger generation knows too little about the Harlem Renaissance, someone sighs. Perhaps this film can change that half a century later.