Spectra: Queer Non-Fiction returns this February with Tongues Untied, as part of the events programme for Common Ground, an installation by James Berrington.
A landmark documentary on Black gay life, Marlon T. Riggs' Emmy Award-winning Tongues Untied (1989) weaves together poetry, personal testimony, rap, and performance—featuring poet Essex Hemphill and others—to confront the homophobia and racism faced by Black gay men.
The film presents powerful accounts of discrimination and violence: a man turned away from a gay bar because of his skin colour; a student left bleeding on the pavement after a brutal attack; the isolation endured by a drag queen. Yet, it also celebrates the vibrancy of Black gay culture—protest marches, smoky bars, “snap diva” wit, humorous “musicology”, and the fierce energy of Vogue dancers.
More than 25 years since its release, Tongues Untied—winner of the Los Angeles Film Critics Award and Best Documentary at the Berlin Film Festival—remains as urgent and resonant 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