Tongues Untied
(Marlon T. Riggs 1989 55 min. USA)
Nonprofit organization
Frameline has partnered with Signifyin’ Works to produce and release an enhanced DVD of Emmy- and Peabody-Award winning poet, filmmaker and educator
Marlon T. Riggs’ Tongues Untied. Awarded Best Documentary at the Berlin Film Festival,
Tongues Untied caused an uproar among the conservative right for its depiction of gay, African-American men when it was first aired on PBS’ P.O.V. series in 1991. Testaments to Riggs’ influence on the documentary form and on LGBT life continue with his induction into the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association’s Hall of Fame at their November 2006 Excellence in Journalism Awards.
Tongues Untied transformed the personal documentary with an original and culturally specific mix of poetry, personal narrative, hip-hop, and performance, creating a truly singular aesthetic that expanded the boundaries of the documentary form. Some of the men’s tales are troublesome: 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 Riggs also presents the rich flavor of the black gay male experience, from protest ma5b9arches and smoky bars to the language of the "snap diva" and vogue dancer.
“
Tongues Untied was motivated by a singular imperative: to shatter America\s brutalizing silence around matters of sexual and racial difference. Yet despite a concerted smear and censorship campaign, perhaps even because of it, this work achieved its aim. The 55-minute video documents a nationwide community of voices–some quietly poetic, some undeniably raw and angry–which together challenge society\s most deeply entrenched myths about what it means to be black, gay, a man, and above all, human.” —
Marlon Riggs, Current, Aug. 1991
ENHANCED DVD NOW AVAILABLE FOR EDUCATORS!
Special New Features:
-Interview with the Director
-Interviews with Isaac Julien, Phill Wilson, Herman Gray, and
Juba Kalamka -Outtakes from the film
DVD Produced by Vivian Kleiman for Signifyin’ Works
Reviews / Awards for Tongues Untied:Best Independent/Experimental Work, L.A. Film Critics Award
First Prize, New Visions, San Francisco International Film Festival
First Prize, Experimental, National Educational Film & Video Festival
Best Black Independent Production, National Black Programming Consortium
Achievement Award, Big Muddy Film Festival
Best Video, Documentary Fesstiva, New York
Outstanding Merit Award, Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame
Honorable Mention, Black Maria Film Festival
Honorable Mention, Black American Cinema Society
New Works Premiere, American Film Institute of Video Festival
Video Viewpoints, Museum of Modern Art
Gay Lives \89, San Francisco Film Arts Festival
Best Performance Video, Atlanta Film & Video Festival
Special Jury Award, USA Film Festival
Special Jury Award, Newark Black Filmmakers Festival
Maya Deren Award, American Film Institute
Blue Ribbon, American Film & Video Festival
Best Documentary, San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival
Best Gay Documentary, Berlin International Film Festival
“A black male warrior fighting for the right to love other black men, Marlon Riggs affirms what was nearly lost, newly found: the certainty that black male lives are utterly precious.” -
Alice Walker
“Black Harvardite...gay...rejected by his southern peeps...struggling to find community...coming to SF and getting dissed in the Castro...attempting to confront racism in the gay community...conflicted around his identity issues and having them brought into sharp focus by his white lovers...you get the point. Watch it. You\ll see that you ain\t that different from the rest of us.” -
Juba Kalamka (aka Pointfivefag), Deep Dickollective, Oakland, CA
"Pointed and vital....Propelled at times by a beautifully articulated anger, Tongues Untied becomes a compelling look at conditions faced by Black gay men." -
Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle
"Usually, politically and socially admirable films fall short of the mark in the aesthetics department. They are praised more for their good intentions...Marlon Riggs has created that rarest of birds--a brilliant, innovative work of art that delivers a knock-out political punch." -
Vito Russo
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