2026 Albie Awards Honor Three Documentary Films
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- Maysles Documentary Center announced the seventh annual Albie Awards, set for September 23, 2026 at Sinny's Supper Club @ Red Rooster in Harlem, with the after-party to follow at the Maysles Documentary Center.
- 'Once Upon a Time in Harlem,' directed by David Greaves from footage his father William Greaves originally shot in 1972, captures Harlem Renaissance luminaries at Duke Ellington's townhouse; Neon opens the film theatrically on October 16.
- 'Rehearsals for a Revolution' by Pegah Ahangarani, a Cannes L'Oeil d'Or winner distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, retraces more than 40 years of Iran's history from 1979 to the war that began in 2026 through five portraits of resistance.
- 'Barbara Forever' by Brydie O'Connor, a Sundance Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award winner, profiles queer experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer and is executive-produced by Christine Vachon, Kristen Stewart, Maggie McLean, and Dylan Meyer, with Strand Releasing opening in September.
- Executive director Kazembe Balagun said the Albies are 'watched by the industry as an early predictor of top contenders for the Academy Awards,' with past honorees including Geeta Gandbhir, Raoul Peck, Bethann Hardison, and Steve James.
- Sponsors for this year's event include Neon, Cinereach, Cinetic, Mubi, Sony Pictures Classics, and Kodak, with proceeds supporting MDC's free filmmaking education program for teens and its 50-seat theater in Harlem.
Why it matters: The Albie Awards are positioned by the Maysles Documentary Center as an industry-watched early predictor of Academy Award contenders, and all three honorees already carry major festival credentials — Cannes L'Oeil d'Or and a Sundance editing award — meaning the September 23 ceremony doubles as a launchpad for three films entering Oscar-qualifying release windows in September and October.
