About the Film:
Directed by Marlon T. Riggs. 1989. USA. 55 min.
The seminal documentary on Black gay life, Emmy Award-winning director Marlon T. Riggs’ 1989 Tongues Untied uses poetry, personal testimony, rap and performance (featuring poet Essex Hemphill and others), to describe 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.
A quarter of a century after its release, director Marlon T. Riggs’ documentary, winner of the Los Angeles Film Critics Award, and Best Documentary prize at the Berlin Film Festival, is as relevant as ever.
“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
Special thanks to The Pōpolo Project.
Prior to the screening, filmmaker Vivian Kleiman will provide a short introduction. After the film, Join us for a post-screening conversation moderated by Dr. Akiemi Glenn, Executive Director of The Pōpolo Project with panelists to be announced.
Vivian Kleiman is a Peabody Award-winning filmmaker whose work is noted for its cultural, ethnic, and stylistic diversity. From the poignant to the quirky, her films always approach their subject with insight, emotional resonance, and humor. A longtime collaborator with filmmaker Marlon Riggs, her credits include Additional Cinematography on his landmark experimental documentary Tongues Untied. Vivian was nominated for a National Emmy Award, Outstanding Individual Achievement for her work with Riggs on Color Adjustment, examining the representation of blacks in primetime TV. Vivian was honored to serve as the inaugural mentor under CAAM’s James Yee Mentorship Program. As an educator, she taught at Stanford University’s Graduate Program in Documentary Film & Video Production for 8 years. She is currently in post-production on No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics.
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