IN CINEMA
Tuesday, June 3rd at 7PM
Pride at Maysles
Pride at Maysles: Tongues Untied, Affirmations, and Anthem
TONGUES UNTIED
Marlon Riggs, 1989, 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.
AFFIRMATIONS
Marlon Riggs, 1990, 10 min.
An exploration of Black gay male desires and dreams, Affirmations starts with an affectionate, humorous confessional and moves on to a wish for empowerment and incorporation.
ANTHEM
Marlon Riggs, 1991, 9 min.
Marlon Riggs’ experimental music video politicizes the homoeroticism of African-American men. With sensual, sexual, and defiant images and words intended to provoke, ANTHEM reasserts the “self-evident right” to life and liberty in an era of pervasive anti-gay and anti-Black backlash and hysterical cultural repression.
+ Post-screening discussion with Dr. Kathryn T. Hall, Dr. Jafari Allen, and Steven G. Fullwood!
Tickets: $15 General Admission / $7 Reduced Price
