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Poster for Once Upon a Time in Harlem

Once Upon a Time in Harlem

2026 · 100 min

A warm, bittersweet reunion of artists sharing memories, like eavesdropping on history with laughter and loss.

Directed by
William Greaves, David Greaves
Genres
Documentary
Starring
Aaron Douglas, Richard Bruce Nugent, Ernest Crichlow
Tagline
You are cordially invited to a film 50 years in the making.
Overview
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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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
William Greaves, David Greaves
Genres
Documentary
Starring
Aaron Douglas, Richard Bruce Nugent, Ernest Crichlow
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • upliftingstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • memory
  • art
  • friendship
  • race
  • aging
Places
  • big city
  • home
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • documentary
  • true story
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action0
Horror0
Humour4
Realism9
Romance1
Tension1
Darkness2
Complexity5
Emotional weight7

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
documentary
Directed by
William Greaves, David Greaves
Starring
Aaron Douglas, Richard Bruce Nugent, Ernest Crichlow, Eubie Blake, Leigh Whipper, Arna Bontemps, William Greaves, James Van Der Zee
Music
Tamar-kali
Cinematography
David Greaves
Runtime
100 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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