Tongues Untied

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An early work of queer black emancipation from the then beacon of hope in the Afro-American gay rights movement - another artist and intellectual who died far too young from AIDS.
An attempt to break through silence. Personal confessions and poetical texts are passionately and provocingly fused to form a study of black homosexual identity in the USA. (Berlinale festival catalogue)
 
This is the acclaimed account of Black gay life by Emmy Award-winning director Marlon T. Riggs. Using poetry, personal testimony, rap and performance (featuring poet Essex Hemphill and others), TONGUES UNTIED describes the homophobia and racism that confront Black gay men.
The stories are fierce examples of homophobia and racism: the man refused entry to a gay bar because of his color; the college student left bleeding on the sidewalk after a gay-bashing; the loneliness and isolation of the drag queen.  Yet they also affirm the black gay male experience: protest marches, smoky bars, "snap diva", humorous "musicology" and Vogue dancers. (frameline)
"My struggle has allowed me to transcend that sense of shame and stigma identified with my being a black gay man. Having come through that fire, they can't touch me." - Marlon T. Riggs

details

  • Runtime

    55 min
  • Country

    United States
  • Year of Presentation

    1990
  • Year of Production

    1989
  • Director

    Marlon T. Riggs
  • Cast

    Essex Hemphill, Marlon T. Riggs, Michael Bell, Kerrigan Black, Blackberri, Bernard Branner, Ben Callet, Gerald Davis, Kenneth R. Dixson, Larry Duckette, Gideon Ferebee, Brian Freeman, Gene Garth, A.J. Honey, Paul Horrey, David Hunter, Wayson Jones, David Barron Kirkland, Richard Medford, Cornelius Moore, Bryant Navy, Willi Ninja, Michael Otis, Christopher Prince, Timothy Riena, Taalib-Din Shakir, Ron Simmons, Darnell Stephens-Durio, Robert D. Taylor, Britt Tennell, Arvid Williams
  • Production Company

    MTR Productions
  • Berlinale Section

    Panorama
  • Berlinale Category

    Documentary Film
  • Teddy Award Winner

    Best Documentary/ Essay Film

Biography Marlon T. Riggs

Born in Fort Worth, USA in 1957, he died in 1994. He studied journalism at Harvard and the University of California. His films explored issues of cultural memory, race relations and homophobia as well as his own HIV status. He won an Emmy for his documentary ETHNIC NOTIONS(1987)

Filmography Marlon T. Riggs

1986 Ethnis Notions