Once Upon a Time in Harlem screens as possible Oscar contender

A documentary shot in 1972 and only assembled recently has become a possible Oscar contender after screening at the New York Film Festival. The film, Once Upon a Time in Harlem, records a four-hour cocktail party at the Upper West Side townhouse of jazz legend Duke Ellington in August 1972.

The guests were living figures from the Harlem Renaissance, the black cultural and artistic movement of the 1920s and 1930s. The movement has been described as one of the most consequential black intellectual and artistic movements of the 20th century. Filmmaker William Greaves asked them to gather and, in the style of observational cinema, filmed them as they reminisced, laughed and argued. Four cameras captured the event.

Greaves died before he assembled the footage. His son David and granddaughter Liani have worked to complete the film. David Greaves said this was what his father wanted: to bring intellectual and artistic giants into one space and record them with four cameras. "For the first time, we were aware of so many creative people who were black," he said.

Those featured include Aaron Douglas, a prominent Harlem Renaissance artist; Arna Bontemps, a leading poet and novelist of the period; and Regina Andrews, whose apartment served as a Harlem literary salon. Andrews recalled the period: "It was just the joy of living and creating together. There were so many of the evenings when these creative writers would share the very first moment of their success with us. You can see how these nights were many and they made for many happy evenings for me."

The film is rooted in 1972, but those involved say it speaks to the present. It puts significant black voices in the foreground at a time when many black Americans feel their history and culture is under threat and being sidelined. One person involved said the period set the pace for art and culture in the country, and that the film is not a niche subject about black history or black people alone. "It is about American culture. It is part of the American experience," they said.

David Greaves hopes the film will act as a permanent record. "The film says, no, this will not be erased. This is a hard copy," he said, adding that names may be deleted with AI or scraped from buildings, but the hard copy will remain.

The documentary has been described as an intimate time capsule that places viewers inside the 1972 party. Its screening at the New York Film Festival has led to talk that it could be an Oscar contender.