Black Film Center/Archive

William Greaves began his career as an actor in film and stage in the late 1940s and, beginning in the 1950s, became a documentary filmmaker, focusing on the African American Experience. Greaves has won numerous awards throughout his career for his films, including over 70 international film festival awards and an Emmy award, as well as four emmy nominations. He was also inducted into the Black Filmmakers' Hall of Fame in 1980.

The Black Film Center/Archive hosted Mr. Greaves for a screening of his film, Ralph Bunch: An American Odyssey on Sunday, October 19, 2003 (View the Press Release). The film, which is narrated by Sidney Poitier, details the extraordinary life and career of Dr. Ralph Johnson Bunche, the noted politician and diplomat who became the first person of color to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey has been shown on PBS and at the Sundance Film Festival.

View the William Greaves Collection at the Black Film Center/Archive

Selected filmography of William Greaves:

• Actor:
  • The Fight Never Ends (1947)
  • Miracle in Harlem (1948)
  • Souls of Sin (1949)
  • Lost Boundaries (1949)
• Director:
  • Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)
  • In the Company of Men (1969)
  • Voice of La Raza (1971)
  • From These Roots (1974)
  • Booker T. Washington: The Life and Legacy (1982)
  • Frederick Douglas: An American Life (1984)
  • Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice (1989)
  • Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey (2001)
• Producer:
  • Malcolm X: Nationalist or Humanist? (1967)
  • Ali, the Fighter (1971)
  • Bustin' Loose (1981)

Here are some sources for learning more about William Greaves:

• Websites:
  • William Greaves Productions
  • PBS: Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey
• Books/Articles:
• "William Greaves, Pioneering African American Filmmaker," written by David Pitts (Washington File Staff Writer)
• Martin, Michael T. (ed.) Cinemas of the Black Diaspora: Diversity, Dependence, and Oppositionality. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995. (see the chapter entitled "William Greaves, Documentary Filmmaking, and the African-American Experience" by Charles Musser and Adam Knee, pp. 389-404)

More Feature Presentations:

• Oscar Micheaux (March/April 2003)
• Camille Billops (Summer 2003)
• African American Oscar Winners (February 2004)
• Africana Women Filmmakers (Fall 2004 - Spring/Summer 2005)
• Race Movies (Fall 2005 - Spring 2006)