Tongues Untied
1989 / USA / 55min
DIRECTOR: MARLON RIGGS
This 1989 experimental documentary film celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. Tongues Untied is a rich account of the Black gay male experience, from protest marches and smoky bars to the language of the "snap diva" and "vogue" dancer. By Black Director Marlon Riggs, one of the top gay filmmakers of the time, it features celebrated Black Gay male poet Essex Hemphill, as well as Riggs, actor Brian Freeman, and others. Tongues Untied combines political statement, spoken word and dance to create a film that won awards at Berlin, San Francisco and Los Angeles. But when it was broadcast in 1989 on PBS, it raised a storm of controversy, with letter-writing campaigns, picket lines, and even bomb threats against stations planning to carry it. The film seeks, in its author's words to, "...shatter the nation's brutalizing silence on matters of sexual and racial difference."
“This is a beautiful, fantastic film. 30+ years later it still resonates. We are proud to bring this remastered film to a new audience, because Queer Black Men’s Lives Matter.” OUTwatch Producers
Berlin International Film Festival winner Best Documentary Film
- Year1989
- Runtime55 min
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- PremiereBerlin International Film Festival
- RatingNR
- DirectorMarlon Riggs
- ScreenwriterMarlon Riggs, Joseph Beam, Essex Hemphill, Alan Miller
- ProducerMarlon Riggs
- Executive ProducerBrian Freeman
- FilmmakerMarlon Riggs
- CastMichael Bell; Blackberry; Gerald Davis; Gene Garth; Wayson Jones; Richard Medford; Ron Simmons
- CinematographerVivian Kleiman
- EditorMarlon Riggs
- ComposerSteve Langley
- Sound DesignMarlon Riggs
- MusicAlex Langford
Tongues Untied
1989 / USA / 55min
DIRECTOR: MARLON RIGGS
This 1989 experimental documentary film celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. Tongues Untied is a rich account of the Black gay male experience, from protest marches and smoky bars to the language of the "snap diva" and "vogue" dancer. By Black Director Marlon Riggs, one of the top gay filmmakers of the time, it features celebrated Black Gay male poet Essex Hemphill, as well as Riggs, actor Brian Freeman, and others. Tongues Untied combines political statement, spoken word and dance to create a film that won awards at Berlin, San Francisco and Los Angeles. But when it was broadcast in 1989 on PBS, it raised a storm of controversy, with letter-writing campaigns, picket lines, and even bomb threats against stations planning to carry it. The film seeks, in its author's words to, "...shatter the nation's brutalizing silence on matters of sexual and racial difference."
“This is a beautiful, fantastic film. 30+ years later it still resonates. We are proud to bring this remastered film to a new audience, because Queer Black Men’s Lives Matter.” OUTwatch Producers
Berlin International Film Festival winner Best Documentary Film
- Year1989
- Runtime55 min
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- PremiereBerlin International Film Festival
- RatingNR
- DirectorMarlon Riggs
- ScreenwriterMarlon Riggs, Joseph Beam, Essex Hemphill, Alan Miller
- ProducerMarlon Riggs
- Executive ProducerBrian Freeman
- FilmmakerMarlon Riggs
- CastMichael Bell; Blackberry; Gerald Davis; Gene Garth; Wayson Jones; Richard Medford; Ron Simmons
- CinematographerVivian Kleiman
- EditorMarlon Riggs
- ComposerSteve Langley
- Sound DesignMarlon Riggs
- MusicAlex Langford