Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Gather alongside Harlem Renaissance luminaries in this incredible time capsule, finally completed more than 50 years after the footage was shot.
In 1972, groundbreaking Black filmmaker William Greaves – maker of the reality-bending 1968 vérité masterpiece Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (MIFF 2023) – issued an invitation to the surviving figureheads of the cultural boom that emanated from Harlem in the 1920s and 30s: to come together once again. The likes of Broadway pioneers Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, artist Aaron Douglas and activist Louise Thompson Patterson convened one summer evening at the stately home of Duke Ellington, where the drinks and reminiscences flowed, crystallised by time.
Behind the camera at this historic gathering was William’s son, David Greaves. With the elder Greaves having passed in 2014, it fell to David to ensure that this remarkable footage could at last be seen and celebrated. In Once Upon a Time in Harlem, he skilfully blends roving scenes from the party with sit-down interviews, also filmed onsite, to create an inviting, immersive atmosphere that positively crackles with the revolutionary verve and commentary of its subjects.
“A vital cinematic document … The conversations could not be more stimulating, offering a glimpse of Black America past and present that is joyous, defiant and sobering.” – Screen Daily
Tickets
For information about the accessible services being offered at MIFF, please visit miff.com.au/access. If you require any access service, such as wheelchair/step-free access, for any MIFF session, please call 03 8660 4888 or email boxoffice@miff.com.au to book your ticket.
You might also like ...
Receiving the highest documentary prize at Cannes, this inspired essay movie channels the tumult of Iranian history into a personal account of loss.
Through a canny postcolonial lens, a filmmaker whose Western name is at odds with her Chinese heritage peels back conflicting layers of family history.