Tongues Untied (1990)

Tongues Untied

1990

Documentary

Synopsis

Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.

Credits

Director

Marlon Riggs

Cast

Blackberri as Self

Brian Freeman as Self

Djola Bernard Branner as Self

Eddie Murphy as Self (archive footage)

Essex Hemphill as Self - Poetry Performance

Kerrigan Black as Self

Marlon Riggs as Self

Michael Bell as Self