Join

SAVE HARLEM NOW!, THE LITERARY SOCIETY,

HARLEM ARTS ALLIANCE,

PMCI OF THE CCNY SPITZER SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE,

AND THE LANGSTON HUGHES HOUSE

for a FREE screening of

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM

🗓️ Thursday, October 29th

🕕 6:30 pm

📍 AMC Magic Johnson Harlem Theater

2309 Frederick Douglass Blvd. @ West 124th Street

In 1972, noted filmmaker William Greaves brought together an extraordinary gathering of surviving artists, writers, and cultural luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance at Duke Ellington’s townhouse for an unforgettable afternoon of spirited debate, candid reflection, laughter, and exchange. Among those gathered were Aaron Douglas, Romare Bearden, Gerri Major, Arna Bontemps, Richard Bruce Nugent, James Van Der Zee, and Ida Mae Cullen, widow of poet Countee Cullen. Captured on 16mm film, this remarkable time capsule offers a rare, intimate seat at the table with the visionaries who helped shape a movement, as they reckon with its legacy, challenge one another, and reflect on the cultural force born in New York City that would reverberate across the globe.

The only film this year to screen at the Sundance, Cannes, Telluride, Toronto, and New York Film Festivals, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM is also nominated for 5 Critics Choice Documentary Awards including Best Documentary, and winner of the 2026 Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Film Prize, and the Maysles Film Center Albie Award in Harlem. The film captures a remarkable gathering of artists and intellectuals whose work helped define the Harlem Renaissance.

Conceived and filmed by pioneering filmmaker William Greaves, directed by his son David Greaves, and produced by his granddaughter Liani Greaves, the film brings three generations together in an act of cultural preservation, one that underscores the responsibility to carry this history forward. Greaves's wife, Louise Archambault Greaves, also worked tirelessly to bring his work to life; after his passing in 2014, she worked closely with Liani and brought on producer and editor Anne de Mare. After Louise’s death in 2023, David, Liani, and Anne finished the film.

Watch NEON's trailer.

Following the screening there will be a special film talk-back panel moderated by cultural historian and Literary Society co-founder Lana Turner; including Dr. David Levering Lewis, Pulitzer Prize winning historian and author of When Harlem Was In Vogue; Dean Schomburg, grandson of acclaimed bibliophile Arturo Schomburg; Donna Van Der Zee, widow of photographer James Van Der Zee who captured the beauty and dignity of black people during the Harlem Renaissance; Michael Henry Adams, historian and author of Harlem Lost and Found; and Dr. MaryLouise Patterson, daughter of Harlem Renaissance activists Louise Thompson and Atty. William Patterson.

The seating capacity is 220, so get your tickets while you can!

Free Screening: Once Upon a Time in Harlem