I’ve been interested in documentary filmmaking for many years, from the educational films of Ken Burns to the vérité documentaries of the Maysles brothers and Frederick Wiseman. I love seeing the different ways filmmakers approach nonfiction, and I think both styles can be incredibly effective depending on the story being told.
The new film Once Upon a Time in Harlem brings these approaches together in a really beautiful way. It’s built around a gathering of intellectuals from the Black community in 1970s Harlem. They talk about their histories, their careers, their interests in the arts, academia and activism, and what it was like to live in Harlem during that time. There’s a real sense of community in these conversations, and a sense of the freedom and possibility they found there.
A lot of this is captured through vérité footage shot by filmmaker William Greaves in 1972. The footage had never been seen before, and it’s wonderful to finally have the opportunity to spend time with these people. The conversations feel lively and natural. Then the film moves into archival footage, sometimes bringing in audio from the conversations we’re already listening to, and sometimes having people read from the journals of the people they’re discussing.
There’s a lot going on here, and the film uses just about every tool available to a documentarian. But it never feels scattered or like it’s trying too hard to make a point. Everything comes together naturally. It tells a history that I think will be unfamiliar to a lot of viewers, but it does so with so much care and humanity. There’s a lot to learn from this film, but it never feels like you’re sitting through a lecture.
I really love this film. It feels alive, and it feels relevant. What’s especially striking is how modern the vérité footage feels, even though it was shot more than 50 years ago. The footage has been beautifully restored, but it still has the look and texture of its time. It feels like a genuine document of the people and the period, rather than something that has been cleaned up and made to feel contemporary.
I’ve also been thinking about the way the film deals with memory. In a way, it feels like we’re watching layers of memories being passed down. The film was edited and released in 2026, but much of what we’re seeing is footage of people having conversations in the 1970s about histories that go back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. It’s almost like a documentary inception. We’re watching people remember the past, and now, decades later, we’re watching those conversations become part of the historical record themselves. I find that really fascinating.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem is an easy film to recommend, especially during a time when it feels like we could use more spaces for people to come together and talk openly. It’s a reminder of how important those conversations can be, and of what we can learn from simply listening to one another. It’s also a wonderful film to see in a theater. You get to settle into these conversations and spend some time with the people at the center of them.
And luckily for us here in Omaha, the film opens at Film Streams on November 6.
For KIOS, I’m Joshua LaBure.
