Tongues Untied (1990)

Marlon Riggs · 55 min · Letterboxd ↗

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.

Tongues Untied screens 3 times at 2 London cinemas between Wednesday 28 October and Sunday 22 November.