In 1972, filmmaker William Greaves invited more than two dozen artists, writers, musicians and intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance to a gathering at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. Many had not seen one another for fifty years. Over drinks, they reminisce, disagree, laugh and debate what the movement was—and what it had become.
Among them are painter Aaron Douglas, poet Arna Bontemps, photographer James Van Der Zee, composer Eubie Blake, artist Richard Bruce Nugent and historian John Henrik Clarke. Greaves’ roaming cameras bring us into the room, where history emerges not as a settled account, but through competing memories, forgotten stories and the pleasure of thinking together.
Greaves considered the project the most important of his career, but died in 2014 before completing it. Drawing on nearly 60,000 feet of restored footage, his son David has shaped the material into an intimate and exuberant collective portrait.
