Film Description

This is the acclaimed account of Black gay life by Emmy Award-winning director Marlon Riggs. Using poetry, personal testimony, rap and performance, Tongues Untied describes the homophobia and racism that confront Black gay men.

Some of the 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 marches and smoky bars to the language of the "snap diva" and Vogue dancer. A benchmark film which speaks for itself.

"Marlon Rigg' Tongues Untied rises above the 'deeply personal' - far above it - in exploring what it means to be black and gay. Angry, funny, erotic and poetic by turns ( and sometimes all at once), it jumps from interview to confession, music video to documentary to poem." - Craig Seligman, San Francisco Examiner

"A daring, visionary work that speaks with the eloquence of barbed wire." - Steve Dollar, Atlanta Journal Constitution