2026 Albie Awards Honor Three Documentary Films
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- Maysles Documentary Center will host its seventh annual Albie Awards on September 23, 2026, at Ginny's Supper Club @ Red Rooster in Harlem, honoring three documentary films; the event is recognized as an early predictor of Academy Award contenders, per executive director Kazembe Balagun
- "Once Upon a Time in Harlem" by David Greaves captures Harlem Renaissance luminaries at a 1972 cocktail party in Duke Ellington's townhouse, filmed by William Greaves 50+ years ago and completed by David Greaves and granddaughter Liani Greaves alongside producer Anne de Mare; Neon opens the film theatrically October 16 in New York
- "Rehearsals for a Revolution" by Pegah Ahangarani — a Cannes L'Oeil d'Or winner distributed by Sony Pictures Classics — assembles personal archives, home videos, and protest footage to trace Iran's history from 1979 through the war that began in 2026
- "Barbara Forever" by Brydie O'Connor, winner of the Sundance Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award, profiles queer experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer; executive-produced by Christine Vachon of Killer Films with Kristen Stewart, Maggie McLean, and Dylan Meyer of Nevermind Pictures, with Strand Releasing opening in September
- The awards are named after Albert Maysles, founder of the Harlem-based nonprofit, and this year's sponsors include Neon, Cinereach, Cinetic, Mubi, Sony Pictures Classics, and Kodak, with past support from Netflix, ESPN 30 for 30, and Gucci
- Proceeds from the event support MDC's free filmmaking education program for teens and its 50-seat theater in Harlem — the only independent cinema serving Harlem, Upper Manhattan, and the Bronx, per president Rebekah Maysles
Why it matters: The three honorees enter Oscar-qualifying season with significant festival pedigree: Neon opens the Harlem Renaissance film theatrically October 16, the Iran documentary carries Cannes L'Oeil d'Or prestige, and the Hammer retrospective carries a Sundance editing award. The William Greaves father-son-granddaughter film gives the lineup a rare multi-generational legacy angle that few awards contenders can match.
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