Press & Events…
Critical Acclaim at Sundance
“Cultural Time-Capsule Doc Invites Us to a Once-in-a-Lifetime Party”
“An intergenerational feat... A documentary brimming with the wise, the thought-provoking and the deeply entertaining... [A] glimmering gift… with something that resembles a calling forth of the ancestors... A vivid and layered time capsule... Turns viewers into time travelers but also invited guests, rightly grateful to be in the room. For some of us, this film might evoke the wonder of a great-grandchild listening in on grown-up reminiscences. Nodding at the substance. Smiling at the style.” read more
“A once-in-a-lifetime dinner party from 1972 is transformed into a thrilling and inspiring hang-out movie”
“100 mesmerizing minutes. It’s both a sublime hang-out of a film and a celebration of individual achievements, a fascinating map of a long-ago scene and a referendum on legacy… That this sumptuous footage, allowed room to breathe, exists at all feels like a miracle… A faultless, captivating experience.” read more
“One Of The Best Movies Of 2026 Was Shot In 1972”
“One truly monumental work of art... It feels like a nostalgic blast from a time when people actually came together and talked about things, even argued passionately with each other about them. But such warmth wouldn’t come through if the footage itself didn’t reflect it... And now we have this masterpiece, finished by David Greaves, which also works as a portrait of and tribute to his father, adding another level.”
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“A Masterpiece!”
The 12 Best Movies of Sundance 2026
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“The best movie I saw—hands down— documentary or not, at Sundance, was ‘Once Upon a Time in Harlem”
listen to Aisha Harris on NPR
“A Vital Celebration of the Harlem Renaissance, as Captured One Magical Evening in 1972”
“The beauty of the film is that it doesn’t judge viewers for what they do and don’t know, but rather encourages us to open our minds to history and see the connections between then and now... In a time when Black Americans have to deal with a government that wants to erase our history and minimize our accomplishments, Once Upon a Time in Harlem stands as a piece of cinematic resistance.”
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“One of the best movies at Sundance”
“A staggering work of archival magic and historical fun: Once Upon A Time In Harlem answers the dull question of 'Who would you invite to your ideal dinner party, dead or alive?' with one of the coolest shindigs ever thrown... History and humanity fill the warm halls and cozy den of the get-together, a rapturous reckoning with one specific movement and with the endless movements that make up our continuously shifting culture.” read more
Early Press
Richard Brody’s article in
The New Yorker
“I’ve just seen one of the greatest talking pictures, one of the greatest cinematic works of creative nonfiction, that I’ve ever seen: “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” - Richard Brody
Work-in-Progress Events
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Director David Mark Greaves (center) and producers Liani Greaves and Anne de Mare are joined by Jon-Sesrie Goff (Ford Foundation) and Ina Archer (National Museum of African American History and Culture) following a screening of sections of the work-in-progress. Part of the 70th Annual Flaherty Film Seminar (June 26, 2025).
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Producer Liani Greaves (right) with Denise Murrell, curator-at-large for 19th and 20th century art at The Met, Jon-Sesrie Goff, and Anne de Mare in conversation about the film. Part of public programming around the exhibition The Harlem Renaissance and TransAtlantic Modernism (July 17, 2024).