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Once Upon a Time in Harlem

Date & Time

Fri. Nov. 27, 2026 7 PM-9 PM
Sat. Nov. 28, 2026 7 PM-9 PM
Sun. Nov. 29, 2026 2 PM-4 PM

Location Main Campus | Law Building

Parking at Beck Garage
Drop off at Beck Building

Film Information

Theater Brown Auditorium Theater, digital
Directed by David, Liana, and William Greaves
Year 2026
Length 100 minutes
Country USA
Language English

Call for Questions 713-639-7531

Email Your Questions [email protected]

Once Upon a Time in Harlem

Date & Time

Fri. Nov. 27, 2026 7 PM-9 PM
Sat. Nov. 28, 2026 7 PM-9 PM
Sun. Nov. 29, 2026 2 PM-4 PM

Location Main Campus | Law Building

Parking at Beck Garage
Drop off at Beck Building

Film Information

Theater Brown Auditorium Theater, digital
Directed by David, Liana, and William Greaves
Year 2026
Length 100 minutes
Country USA
Language English
A decade after his death, filmmaker William Greaves’s family completed what he considered the most important event he captured on film: a 1972 party (at Duke Ellington’s townhouse!) he engineered with the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. For four hours, this extraordinary group—many of whom had not seen each other in 50 years—reminisced, critiqued, laughed, drank, and argued about their place in the cultural landscape. Viewers hear from musician Eubie Blake; artists Romare Bearden and Aaron Douglas; photographer James Van Der Zee; queer cultural pioneer Richard Bruce Nugent; poet Countee Cullen’s widow, Ida Mae Cullen; activist Louise Thompson Patterson; and so many more. Completed by Greaves’s son and granddaughter, this landmark film is at once a self-exploration and an enlightening contribution to the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance. 

Tickets | Available Soon
  • $9 general admission; $7 MFAH members, students with ID, seniors (65+)
Plan Your Visit

Call for Questions 713-639-7531

Email Your Questions [email protected]

Underwriting for the Film Department is provided by Tenaris and American Friends of Fundacion Proa Inc., The Robert Frank Foundation, Nina and Michael Zilkha, Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Houston, Laurence P. Unger and Ben Hobratsch, and the Vaughn Foundation.
 
Generous funding is provided by the Foundation for Independent Media Arts; Lois Chiles; Franci Neely; Joanie Patrick and Stephen Bettencourt; Ellen A. Yarrell; and ILEX Foundation.