Return-Path: Received: from sub.its.rpi.edu (jec422.its.rpi.edu) by rpi.edu (4.1/SMHUB25); id AA14631; Tue, 4 Jun 91 00:42:34 EDT for glba From: Ron Buckmire Received: by sub.its.rpi.edu (4.1/RPI-ITS-SUB12); id AA04502; Tue, 4 Jun 91 00:40:44 EDT for glba Date: Tue, 4 Jun 91 00:40:44 EDT Message-Id: <9106040440.AA04502@sub.its.rpi.edu> To: glba Subject: stuff Status: RO T O N G U E S U N T I E D an unprecidented exploration of Black Gay Life /Tongues Untied/ confronts the silence of pain, the grin-and- bear-it silence, the suicide silence of the unacknowledged and tongue- tied. Degoratory accusations, judgments and jokes that abound in our culture are met head-on by Marlon Riggs' highly personal 55-minute video about black, male, gay identity. Poetry, personal testimony, rap and drama unite to oppose the homophobia and racism that attempt to split black gay men into opposing loyalties. An impassioned and provocative work, /Tongues Untied/, writes one critic, "slams you in the stomach while the poetry caresses your cheek." /Tongues Untied/ is a collaboration between Emmy Award- winning director Riggs and a number of nationally renown black gay organizations and artists, including poets Essex Hemphill, Alan Miller, Steve Langley, singer/composer Blackberri, photographer/media activist Ron Simmons, as well as Gay Men of African Descent and Black Gay Men United. Funded in part by a Western States NEA Regional Fellowship and a Film Arts Foundation Personal Works grant, /Tongues Untied/ has received the following honors: BEST INDEPENDENT/EXPERIMENTAL WORK, L.A. Film Critics Award FIRST PRIZE, NEW VISIONS, San Franciso International Film Festival BLUE RIBBON, American Film and Video Festival FIRST PRIZE, EXPERIMENTAL, National Educational Film and Video Festival BEST BLACK INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION, National Black Programming Consortium ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, Big Muddy Film Festival BEST DOCUMENTARY, Berlin International Film Festival, G.T.B. BEST VIDEO, Documentary Festival, NY OUTSTANDING MERIT AWARD, Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame HONORABLE MENTION, Black Maria Film Festival HONORABLE MENTION, Black American Cinema Society NEW WORKS PREMIERE, American Film Institute Video Festival VIDEO VIEWPOINTS, Museum of Modern Art GAY LIVES '89, San Franciso Film Arts Festival BEST PERFORMANCE VIDEO, Atlanta Film and Video Festival SPECIAL JURY AWARD, USA Film Festival SPECIAL JURY AWARD, Newark Museum Black Filmmakers Festival 1991 MEDIA AWARD, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Invitatinal Screenings: D.C. International FilmFest Edinburgh Film Festival Melbourne International Film Festival The Few Festival, NY The New Festival, NY Copenhagen International Film & Video Festival Flaherty International Film Seminar, Riga, Latvia International Public Television Festival, Dublic, Ireland 1991 Whitney Museum Biennial Exhibition Broadcast: Barcelona Television BBC, England -------- SHANGO. I got this in the mail, please help by /writing/ or calling your local PBS station and letting them know how you feel about Tongues Untied and it's airing nationally on public television--BSP. TONGUES UNTIED __________________________________________________________________ Marlon T. Riggs [street] Berkeley, CA 415-548-3884 May 23, 1991 Sometimes the impossible dreams really do come true! /Tongues Untied/, my experimental documentary exploring black gay life in America will have its /national public television/ premiere this summer. The date: Tuesday, July 16. In the PBS series: POV (or Point of View). And the scheduled time: 10 p.m., that is, in /primetime/, when most Americans watch television. My contract with POV stipulates that they show the work unedited, uncut, uncensored. And there's the hitch: many local public television stations are feeling quite nervous, to put it mildly, about /Tongues Untied/'s uncompromising language and frank homoerotic imagery. Unfortunately, many stations, as a result, may try to air it outside of primetime (for instance, in the wee hours of the morning when few people will be watching); or worse, some may decide not to broadcast the program at all. /Your local public television needs to hear from you/, to ensure that they do the right thing! Please call, or better yet, write, letting them know the importance of public television's serving and addressing /all/ Americans in all our complexity. Commend the POV series for including /Tongues Untied/ in their schedule, and let your local station know that you are eagerly looking forward to lesbian/gay/bi- sexual experience in the series (for example, /Absolutely Positive/). It's critical that you, your organizations, your colleagues, friends and family let your voices be heard /now/. At this very moment, your local PBS station is deciding how it will "handle" /Tongues Untied/; when it will be show, and for some, even /whether/ it will be shown. Call or write to encourage them to make the right choice, to demonstrate leadership in becoming a forum for /enlightened/ public discussion on questions of racial/sexual identity. Remind them of their fundamental public mission: to be an alternative to commercial television, not an imitator, and thus, to honestly represent America's rich cultural, political, and not least, sexual diversity. I've included a list of the many internation awards and honors /Tongues Untied/ has received since its 1989 premiere. Feel free to use theis information if your statin starts rationalizing that the program is too "risky." Remind them, too, that a key purpose of public television is taking risks, and that among the risks of broadcasting provocative, innovative work is the possibility that some in the mainstream may be "offended." In short, through POV's inclusion of /Tongues Untied/ in this summer's line up, the foundation has been set, but it's up to us in all our diverse communities to make sure the house gets built. My mailing list is limited (as are my promotional funds), so I'm hoping that you can make copies of this letter and send it on to friends, relatives, and organization to spread the word and increase polite pressure on the stations. If you need more information, please feel free to write me at [2600 Tenth Street, Suite 106, Berkeley, CA 94710] or call me at [415-548-3884]. I'd especially like to know how your station responds. Thanks for your help. Sincerely, [signed] Marlon T. Riggs Producer, /Tongues Untied/ State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook, NY 11790-0651 Marc Gunning Residence Hall Director Campus Residences 31-May-1991 10:07pm EDT FROM: MGUNNING TO: Lesbigay Netters ( _gaynet@athena.mit.edu ) SUBJECT: Lesbigay Bookstores Here is a partial listing of some of the bigger lesbigay bookstores in the U.S. Call or write them to be put on their mailing list. A Different Light (NY) 548 Hudson Street. New Yrok, NY 10014 212-989-4850 Large selection of books and magazines, some educational videos. Overall, an excellent selection of resources. The staff is very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. If you're in the city, stop in and check out their wide selection of lesbigay fiction.) A Different Light (SF) 489 Castro St. San Francisco, CA 94114 419-431-0891 A Different Light (LA) 4014 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90029 213-668-6601 Giovanni's Room 345 So. 12th Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 215-923-2960 One of the more famopus lesbigay bookstores on the East Coast. Staff was very friendly and helpful when I called. Lamda Rising 1625 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Washington D>C. 20009 202-462-6969 Advertised as the largest lesbigay bookstore in the country. Fun place to visit if you're ever in D.C. ("Attention, ladies and gentlemen, we are now having a special on rainbow flag stickers. They are a subtle way to express pride and support. You can put them on anything: your books, your records, your neighbors' cars.") Their newsletter is very good (just got my new one today as a matter of fact.) Oscar Wilde Bookstore 15 Christopher Street New York, NY 10014 212-255-8097 Smaller bookstore with limited hours (e.g. open til about 7:30 pm on Friday nights). Packed with excellent resources that are often hard to come by. Knowledgeable, friendly staff who are willing to go out of their way to help you. (And they are now celebrating their 24th year in business!)