Film Forum

WINNER of the 2026 Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film

August 1972: A reunion of Harlem Renaissance luminaries is held at Duke Ellington’s St. Nicholas Ave. townhouse. Though many of these figures haven’t seen each other in 50 years, sharp memories, vigorous debates, and unsettled scores soon flow through this stunner of a cocktail party, which features (among others): artists Romare Bearden, Aaron Douglas, and Richard Bruce Nugent; composer Eubie Blake; poet Arna Bontemps; photographer James Van Der Zee; and activists Richard B. Moore and Louise Patterson. After organizing and shooting this extraordinary gathering, filmmaker William Greaves (SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM: TAKE ONE) was unable to complete the film before his death in 2014. One of the cameramen that day was his son David, who expertly reshaped this never-before-seen, newly-restored footage into “a film for the ages…one of the greatest cinematic works of creative nonfiction that I’ve ever seen.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker

Presented with support from The Ada Katz Fund for Literature in Film, The Helen Frankenthaler Endowed Fund for Films on Art, and The Roy Lichtenstein Fund

2026     100 MIN.     USA     NEON

Open Caption (OC) Screenings:
Tuesday, October 27, 12:15 show
Saturday, October 31, 12:15 show
Sunday, November 1, 12:15 show
Monday, November 2, 8:10 show
Tuesday, November 3, 12:15 show

Trailer

Reviews

“One of the greatest cinematic works of creative nonfiction that I've ever seen.”
– Richard Brody, The New Yorker

CRITIC’S PICK. “A house party for the ages... A blissout and one of the events of this cinematic season... A deeply personal, collectively produced oral history of a specific moment of time as it was lived—and held in memory—by specific individuals.  The past comes vibrantly alive in these rooms, but always circles back to the present and often points to the future... One of the sustaining pleasures of this wonderful, spirit-lifting movie is that—even with many of its contributors now gone—it feels excitingly alive.”
– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“A MASTERPIECE... A truly monumental work of art.”
– Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine

“The stuff of legend... Feels like a miracle.”
– Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com

“An atmospheric, electrifying documentary, and a moving testament to the importance of remembering.”
– Shirley Li, The Atlantic
 
“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.”
– Lisa Kennedy, Variety
 
“[A] rich doc crafted from gorgeously restored footage. A triumph of DIY filmmaking and an act of cinematic resistance.”
– Jourdain Searles, The Hollywood Reporter

“A masterpiece.”
– David Fear, Rolling Stone

“Not only the biggest surprise of this year’s Sundance, but a revelation.”
– Chris O’Falt, IndieWire