sundance ff 2026

Once in a great while, films come along that are as much important historical documents as thy are works of cinema. A perfect example is the Oscar-winning Summer of Soul (…or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Questlove’s documentary based on 50 hours of recently discovered footage from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. This year another film based on archival footage is seeing its release at Sundance 2026. Once Upon a Time in Harlem uses nearly 30 hours of 16mm footage from a 1972 gathering of Harlem Renaissance luminaries orchestrated by renowned artist and director William Greaves. Also putting the focus on Harlem, long regarded as the Mecca of African American culture, this film highlights some of the essential figures that first contributed to making Harlem the cornerstone of Black American culture and history.